‘Ghosts’ Star Asher Grodman on Capturing the Poignant Side of Trevor’s Legacy

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Ghosts Season 4, Episode 4, “The Work Retreat.”]

Ghosts centered its spotlight on the forever-pantless spirit Trevor (Asher Grodman) in its latest Season 4 installment, “The Work Retreat,” in which he catfished his way into a job. The catch? When he was invited to a work retreat, Trevor begged livings Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) to host the event and have Jay pose as Trevor’s catfish alias.

“Because of his magical finger ability,” Grodman credited, “[Trevor] miraculously found a way to get a job.” And while the star shared that hilarity ensued because of this, there was also “some poignance involved,” and that’s what really makes the episode stand out.

After he bribed the couple with a promise of “water fountain money,” they agreed to the ruse, but as was to be expected, nothing went quite as planned, and the usually confidant Trevor was rattled when he heard his new colleagues joking that they’d thought he would be lame because all of his online references were old. Jay’s ad-libbing and going off script essentially won the workers over, but Trevor was still saddened, believing he didn’t fit in with his peers.

Bertrand Calmeau / CBS

In an effort to put some respect on Trevor’s name, Jay came up with the plan to name-drop the ghost, noting he was his mentor growing up. The name sparked recognition in the workers, who noted that Trevor was considered a legend among their colleagues, recounting the story about how an old school hazing ritual led to his pantless state, but that his good deed of loaning the pants was never forgotten.

Long story short, Trevor’s good deed before his death had a ripple effect that ultimately birthed the company he catfished his way into. The full circle moment stirred up an understandably emotional reaction from Trevor, who has always wanted to cement his legendary status.

When it came to reflecting on Trevor’s storylines, Grodman told TV Insider, “I don’t even know that I can pick [a favorite] because the one with his parents is great. Laraine Newman and Chip Zien are amazing. Tara Reid came along for that…”

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Still, Grodman said, “I think that this episode is very poignant and speaks to, at its core, what our show is capable of doing that not many of the shows can do just because of the concept.”

“And we’re dealing with life and death issues, but we’re a bunch of clowns. So it’s, for the most part, pretty light and fun and muppety, but every once in a while we can take a couple of steps to a certain side and pull some heartstrings,” he added.

Were your heartstrings pulled by Trevor’s story in the latest Ghosts episode? Let us know in the comments section, below, and stay tuned for more as Season 4 unfolds.

Ghosts, Season 4, Thursdays, 8:30/7:30c, CBS