How Many Seasons Of Ghosts Are There?

The adorably absurd U.S. adaptation of a supernatural sitcom about a woman who finds herself with the ability to see ghosts, CBS's "Ghosts" is still going strong in its 4th season. The series follows New York couple Samantha (Rose McIver) and Jay Arondekar (Utkarsh Ambudkar) as they improbably inherit and move into a sprawling country house that happens to be packed to the rafters with generally friendly ghosts who died on the property. After a brush with death leaves Sam with the ability to see and communicate with them, she and Jay rather quickly adjust to a life where she becomes the spirits' helpful connection to the world of the living.

With its simple, silly, and altogether wholesome storylines and surprisingly well-developed characters, "Ghosts" is an easy watch that continues to earn high marks among critics and audiences alike four seasons in. Clever writing and cast members like Rose McIver have worked hard to ensure the series stands out from the U.K. version of "Ghosts," as the colorful roster of history-spanning ghosts like Thorfinn the Viking (Devan Chandler Long), Sasappis ("Sass") of the Lenape (Román Zaragoza), and Flower the hippie ghost (Sheila Carrasco) continue to make the show what it is.

Premiering on October 7, 2021, the 18-episode "Ghosts" Season 1 began much like its U.K. counterpart, introducing the central couple and how they came to reside in a country estate. While smack dab in the middle of an unfortunate realtor appointment that leaves writer Sam and chef Jay contemplating the miseries of New York City housing, Sam learns she's inherited a sprawling 19th-century Hudson Valley manor. She and Jay quickly move in and get to work fixing it up, intent on transforming it into a bed and breakfast — much to the chagrin of the many spirits that inhabit its halls.

When Sam is nearly killed falling down the stairs, she wakes up with the ability to see and hear the ghosts. Although she initially believes she must be hallucinating, Sam eventually comes to accept the reality of her situation and commits herself to living alongside the friendly spirits in her home, at times going out of her way to make their afterlife better for them. Nigel (John Hartman) and Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones), who are both Revolutionary-era ghosts from opposite sides of the war, begin a relationship ("Farnsby & B"). Meanwhile, Sam introduces the ghosts to modern technology, granting them access to the outside world through TV and the internet. In return, the ghosts give up their attempts to sabotage her bed and breakfast, and Sam and Jay open their doors to the public ("Farnsby & B").

The 22-episode Season 2 of "Ghosts," which premiered on September 29, 2022, spends a lot of time exploring the relationships of both the living and the dead inhabitants of Woodstone Manor. Nigel and Isaac continue their relationship, and Sam starts a podcast to help 1920s singer Alberta (Danielle Pinnock) find her killer. While visiting the neighbors' house, she finds the spirit of Thorfinn's son Bjorn (Christian Jadah) and helps connect the two, who communicate through their adjacent windows ("The Baby Bjorn").

Sam and Jay hire a food delivery worker named Freddie (Mike Lane) to help out around the place, but he quickly becomes suspicious that the house is haunted and invests in a ghost trap from Latvia ("The Family Business" and "Ghost Hunter"), which temporarily traps Flower and Thorfinn. After a brief love triangle with Thorfinn and Pete (Richie Moriarty), Flower decides she wants to pursue a relationship with Thorfinn ("Ghost Hunter"). Meanwhile, Sam helps Isaac publish his biography ("Isaac's Book"). Hetty's (Rebecca Wisocky) husband briefly returns from Hell in an effort to get someone else to take his place ("Weekend from Hell"), and Pete ghost-walks his daughter down the aisle ("Ghost Father of the Bride"). The season ends with an unknown ghost getting "sucked off" to the afterlife; although no one knows it was, it appears at the time to be Flower.

At only 10 episodes long, "Ghosts" Season 3, which premiered on February 15, 2024, is much shorter than its first two seasons. But a lot happens in that short time to move the story along. The season kicks off with the residents of Woodstone convinced a now-missing Flower has been sucked off into the afterlife. In his grief, Thor is certain she has been reincarnated as an owl, which he convinces Sam to keep caged in the house ("The Owl"). Pete's ex-wife Carol (Caroline Aaron) dies at Sam and Jay's Halloween party, leaving her spirit trapped on the grounds for eternity.

Isaac's book starts to earn some money that Trevor (Asher Grodman) invests, which they in turn gift to Sam and Jay to help open their restaurant ("The Silent Partner"). When the teenage attic ghost Stephanie (Odessa A'zion) wakes up to reveal her boyfriend was the one who got "sucked off," the ghosts realize Flower might still be around the property somewhere and set off to find her stuck in the well ("Holes are Bad"). They retrieve her, and after Thor admits he started sleeping with the cholera ghost Nancy (Betsy Sodaro), the three start up a polyamorous relationship. After learning his ghostly power is the ability to travel off-property, Pete takes a vacation and then returns to give a speech that causes Isaac to surprise Nigel with a breakup that ends "Ghosts" Season 3 on a heartbreaking note ("The Traveling Agent"; "Isaac's Wedding").

"Ghosts" Season 4 kicked off on October 17, 2024. The nine-episode season formally introduces Patience (Mary Holland), an extremely difficult Puritan ghost Isaac once lost in the dirt when he sneezed. After Patience finally makes her way back into the house, she sets to work wreaking mayhem by kidnapping Isaac. With Sam's guidance, the ghosts make an effort to bring her into the fold despite Patience making them all fairly uncomfortable ("Patience"). Despite their best efforts, Patience continues to torment everyone by making the wall bleed the word "sin" and trying Sam as a witch ("Sam's Dad"; "Halloween 4: The Witch").

After her efforts fail, Patience decides to head back into the dirt, where there may or may not be other Puritans lurking. Meanwhile, Isaac's book gets re-released as a YA vampire romance, Trevor adopts a snail, Pete does some more traveling, and Jay's parents finally come to visit ("The Primary Source"; "A Very Arondekar Christmas Part 1 and 2").

The U.K. version of "Ghosts" follows a near-identical premise to its U.S. counterpart. Instead of Sam and Jay at Woodstone Mansion, the series follows the lives of Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) Cooper as they move from a cramped city apartment to Button House. Much like the cholera ghosts of Woodstone, Button House has its own contingent of plague ghosts dating back to the Black Death.

Most of the other ghosts also have parallels. Thorfinn's U.K. counterpart is a caveman named Robin (Laurence Rickard). Like Hetty, Button House has a snobbish "lady of the house" in the Edwardian Lady Stephanie 'Fanny' Button (Martha Howe-Douglas). Instead of pantless frat boy Trevor, the U.K. "Ghosts" has Julian Fawcett MP (Simon Farnaby), a Tory Parliament member who died in the house amid a sex scandal. Pete has the most direct counterpart in Scout leader Patrick "Pat" Butcher (Jim Howick), who, like Pete, died with an arrow through his neck from one of his scouts. Other characters include the charming and naive young Georgian woman Kitty (Lolly Adefope), often tedious Regency-era poet Thomas Thorne (Mathew Baynton), Stuart-era witch trial victim Mary (Katy Wix), and a closeted World War II officer called The Captain (Ben Willbond).

The show's five-season run began in 2019 and concluded in December 2023. Like the U.S. version, the series deals with the Coopers' efforts to transform Button House into a bed and breakfast while managing life in a serious fixer-upper crowded with spirits. While much of the humor is the same, the humor in the U.K. version is a bit more understated and at times more melancholy, leaving many fans of the BBC "Ghosts" feeling divided over the American remake.