Rose McIver spent five years as the undead lead on The CW’s ‘iZombie’, but now she’s set to interact with another sort of undead creature– ghosts. She will star in the pilot for a potential new single-camera comedy for CBS entitled ‘Ghosts’. This is a remake of a British series of the same name which premiered on BBC One last spring. This version of ‘Ghosts’ was developed for U.S. television by Joe Port & Joe Wiseman. The series will be produced by Lionsgate Television, BBC Studios, and CBS Television Studios. The only other person cast so far is Brandon Scott Jones, who plays one of the ghosts.
McIver will portray Samantha, an uptight Type A personality, who “who loves fun, but not as much as she loves planning fun.” Freelance journalist Samantha and her sous chef husband Ryan can barely make ends meet, so when she suddenly inherits a huge manor in the country, they eagerly move into the rent-free home, only to discover it is already inhabited by the ghosts of various former residents. “A great listener and a genuinely good person,” Samantha becomes the sounding board for these needy ghouls.
Jones portrays the ghost Isaac, “a well-meaning but pompous and long-winded Militiaman and statesman who died in the late 1700s of dysentery.” (via Variety)
The original British version of ‘Ghosts’ was created by and stars the cast members of ‘Horrible Histories’ and ‘Yonderland’. In that version, the “Samantha” character was named Alison Cooper and was played by Charlotte Ritchie. Kiell Smith-Bynoe portrayed her husband, Mike, while the various ghosts were played by Martha Howe-Douglas, Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Lolly Adefope, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond, Katy Wix, Jim Howick, and Yani Xander. There were six episodes in the first series, but BBC One has already renewed it for a second and third season.
‘iZombie’ just ended last year, but McIver has already gone on to appear in ‘A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby’, a Netflix stab at copying the hit formula of Hallmark original Christmas movies. (She also starred in the preceding movie, ‘A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding’.)
Brandon Scott Jones recurred on ‘The Good Place’ as John Wheaton and has appeared on Comedy Central’s ‘The Other Two’, in the role of Curtis.
For now, ‘Ghosts’ is just a pilot, but check back for more information as it becomes available.
