Ghosted

Yesterday when I got home from work and settled in to watch a couple of episodes of something, I saw that Hulu had an exclusive of the new show Ghosted starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson.  Then, later in the evening the show went live on Twitter.  It's the first time I've seen anything like that.  The show aired on Twitter and the live tweeting occurred below the episode as it played.  It was a fun and incredibly interactive way to watch the show.


I'm a huge fan of both actors so when I tell you I've been excitedly waiting for this premiere I hope that you fully understand.  I've been following their careers for a while now and I think they are two of the funniest "straight men" in the business.  Their dead pan delivery of logic and observations have been practically their trademark up to this point.


Ghosted follows Max, a former Professor who was kicked out of Stanford for his belief that his wife was abducted by aliens; and Leroy a former LAPD Detective who is now working as a security guard.  One day when they are minding their own business, they get picked up by a secret government agency and recruited to assist in finding a missing agent.  They must work together in order to solve the case with the promise that they will be able to go back to the lives they had before they were disgraced.


Scott and Robinson are so perfectly cast for these roles I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the roles were written for them in mind specifically.  Both characters come across with heart and humor and while some of the dialogue was flimsy or oddly delivered, the majority of it was incredibly funny. 

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​The show is not without its problems, however.  There is one edit in the middle of the episode that even after seeing the show twice feels like a blink and you miss it moment where the transition is so harsh you wonder what the heck just happened.  It also suffers from trying to cram too much into a twenty minute episode.  Even if they are going to end up in a half hour (with commercials) format, the premiere could have benefited from an hour long world building episode.  Because they only have twenty minutes to tell the entire background of the story there isn't a ton of world building.  Max comes off as pushy when demanding multiple times that Leroy tell him what happened at the LAPD.  And even after seeing it twice now I'm still not entirely certain as to what happens to the agent they went looking for in the first place.


Even with that all said, with the banter, the premise, and the soundtrack, Ghosted has the makings of a fun show ahead.  As a pilot, it was just OK.  But I'm hoping that others can see the potential for greatness that I do.  There's a great show in there, there are just some tweaks that need to be made. 


Have you watched it yet?  It's on Hulu for a couple more days and then it premieres on 10/1.  I highly recommend you check it out.

The only real question I have left is whether Fox will invest in the show and let it find its footing, or send it to the land of cancelled shows.
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