‘Ghosts’ Whisperers

You might say there’s a haunting pattern when it comes to season finales of Ghosts, the hit CBS series that serves you emotions with a side of morbid humor: in last May’s third season cliffhanger, a spirit from Woodstone Manor abruptly disappeared from the property. Thankfully, fans won’t have to spend too much more time wondering what happened to Revolutionary Isaac Higgintoot (Brandon Scott Jones) after he broke off his wedding with Nigel (John Hartman) and was pulled into the dirt by his old friend Patience — the ghost who still holds a grudge from Isaac leaving her underground in the 1800s.

“We’re going to find out what her plans with Isaac are. We’re going to deal with that in the beginning,” promises showrunner Joe Wiseman, indicating that we’ll be seeing a lot more of the Puritan ghost played by The Big Door Prize’s Mary Holland. Adds showrunner Joe Port, “We’re going to find out where [Patience] came from and how she was in life, and how that’s affecting her reaction to having been abandoned by Isaac in the dirt.”

So, what impact will that have on the other ghosts at Woodstone? “It’s a loaded relationship right out of the gate,” teases Scott Jones of the pair’s relationship, which was introduced and tentatively explored in the last season. “I think now that Patience has found him again, there’s definitely some vengeance that she wants to take. It’s going to be a really fun new dynamic in the house because even if she’s kind of after Isaac, the whole group of ghosts is such a tight little organism that they don’t even realize when something throws it off kilter, it kind of ripples throughout the entire home.”

Patience isn’t the only ghost getting the spotlight treatment in Season 4, which will once again consist of a full run of 22 episodes. The showrunners confirm that we’ll see Pete (Richie Moriarty) continuing explore his ability to travel outside the house grounds and, according to Wiseman, “he’s very excited about his new power to the point of being a little smug. He’s going use this power for some selfish reasons and for some good.” Meanwhile, Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long) and Flower (Sheila Carrasco) will be dealing with the aftermath of deciding to commit to a relationship without the addition of basement ghost Nancy (Betsy Sodaro). “Flower isn’t used to being in a monogamous relationship, really,” cautions Wiseman. “So there will be adjustments to that.”

While fans can look forward to a new animal ghost and the reveal of a room in the house we haven’t seen before, there’s one particular story Scott Jones personally can’t wait to tackle: Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) finally having the ability to see Woodstone’s apparitions. “It’ll be so fun to be able to make eye contact,” he says excitedly. “You know, I think Isaac stared at Jay for a long time, but Jay’s never seen Isaac. And I’m excited to see what that means for Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay’s relationship if they both have relationships with the ghosts. That’s going to be different.”

What won’t be different? Plenty of laughs and the stories that fans have come to love, as this season will once again include the traditional Christmas episode and a Halloween story that is, according to Scott Jones “really, really fun.” Asked to sum up the events to come, the actor gets pensive. “The one word I would use — and this isn’t just for Isaac, I think in a lot of ways—the word I would use is redemption. I feel like a lot of characters are kind of after things that they’ve always wanted to be after.” Also? “Funny. Funny would be a good one.”

“The set is a great place to be because, you know, no one’s selfish. Everyone knows that by elevating everyone around them, it’s going to elevate the show and themselves. There’s so many different combinations of characters and actors and it really gives the show legs,” says Wiseman. “It’s a blessing.”

“There’s definitely many places to go,” echoes Port. “And we definitely have long-term plans but those plans don’t involve having to wrap up anytime soon. We think the show has a lot of runway ahead of it and we’re excited about season four. We’re excited for everyone to see the episodes that we’ve been working on.”

Ghosts, Season 4 Premiere, Thursday, October 17, CBS