SDCC 2022: Ghosts Haunting San Diego

Actually, if a couple of hotels’ publicity are to be believed, ghosts are already haunting San Diego. But that wouldn’t be CBS’ hit comedy Ghosts, which will possess a nice chunk of San Diego Convention Center real estate for Comic-Con. In addition to the show’s first official panel, CBS and Paramount+ are offering two immersive experiences. One will be physical at Petco Park and one will be out there in the metaverse. Because of course, and it’s also a potential opportunity if you’re someone who’s a fan but not attending San Diego Comic-Con International.

Adapted from the BBC series of the same name, the CBS version of Ghosts features Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar as a married couple who inherit the palatial but broken down Woodstone Manor. They plan to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast, facing opposition from local snobs and, as it turns out, the ghosts trapped haunting the house. When McIver’s Samantha suffers a head injury that allows her to interact with the dead, hilarious hijinks ensue. Except, yes, they do. Ghosts isn’t just CBS’ #1 new show (and #1 comedy on Paramount+), it’s a critical favorite because it is hilarious. Though sharing a basic premise with its British counterpart, it has evolved into a touching but much faster, funnier show.

Series guest star Matt Walsh (Upright Citizens’ Brigade) hosts a panel discussion on Thursday, July 21 in Ballroom 20 from 1-2 pm, featuring the full cast including “livings” McIver and Ambudkar, as well as “ghosts” Brandon Scott Jones, Richie Moriarty, Danielle Pinnock, Asher Grodman, Román Zaragoza, Sheila Carrasco, Rebecca Wisocky and Devan Chandler Long. Executive producers Joe Port and Joe Wiseman join them, bringing preview footage from Season 2, which lands Thursday, September 29 in its new CBS time slot at 8:30 pm.

Heading off-site to Petco Park — Thursday through Sunday, Ghosts will offer you the opportunity to join them. The press release explains

As part of CBS’s “Summer of GHOSTS” immersive marketing campaign honoring the “recently departed” first season and its upcoming sophomore season this fall, GHOSTS will show up in San Diego with Pinecone Trooper Pete’s “Friend Zone,” an activation with a campsite feel in honor of scout leader ghost Pete, whose unfortunate archery accident left him with an arrow through his neck for eternity. The activation will be set up at the Interactive Zone at Petco Park from July 21-24, and will feature a “scare-free” archery activation – but nothing is what it seems at this campsite setup on ‘the lawn’ of The Woodstone Mansion – the show’s setting and home to the ghosts. Fans can connect with Ghosts and ‘the other side’ through psychic mediums and programming that’ll give attendees insight into their past, present, and future lives.

Fans who can’t make it to San Diego can still enjoy the GHOSTS experience in the Metaverse, which, beginning on July 21, will take fans on an immersive journey through the haunted Woodstone Mansion to solve puzzles, undertake quests and earn limited edition, collectible NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). The GHOSTS mansion was meticulously recreated using actual blueprints and features surprising interactions with the show’s main characters.

I’m not actually yet sure how that will work, but it sounds exciting and I’ll try them both. If you haven’t seen the show, or subscribed to Paramount+, we have a helpful link on the right. Fanboy Planet is a Paramount+ affiliate, so any membership started through that link may generate a bounty.