Ghosts fans got quite a bit of information about the upcoming fourth season of the CBS comedy during Saturday’s Comic-Con panel, including the surprise announcement that Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) will finally get to see his invisible housemates at Woodstone Manor.
That’s right, Jay is seeing the ghosts in Season 4. Even Ambudkar was shocked by the news, which received a resounding applause from the packed Ballroom 20.
“Guys, I get to talk to people at work!” the actor joked. He was joined by showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman as well as series stars Román Zaragoza, Rebecca Wisocky and Richie Moriarty.
Unlike many of these panels, where creators and cast have remained fairly tight-lipped with any spoilers, the Ghosts crew was ready to divulge about Season 4.
After that Season 3 cliffhanger, there is the looming threat of Patience, the “feral Puritan ghost” as Port put it. The panel began with the news that Mary Holland will be stepping into that role.
“She’s funny, she’s quirky, she’s off, she’s just perfect for patience,” he continued. The actors raved about her as well, with Zaragoza saying: “She’s so good. We shot some scenes, and I’m just in awe of her.”
Also, fans will get to meet Sam’s (Rose McIver) dad and Jay’s family this season. Since production on Season 4 is ongoing, the cast and showrunners weren’t able to give all the information just yet. They did say Dean Norris will play Sam’s dad.
“My daughter came up with this idea when I was finishing Breaking Bad. She’s 16, and we were talking about Sam’s dad and she’s like, ‘What about Hank?’” Port said of that casting. “He was available and wanted to do it, so she’s very proud.”
As for Jay’s side of the family, Ambudkar said she hasn’t read the script for that episode yet, so he doesn’t actually know what will go down. However, it did have a pretty stellar guess.
“I think it’ll be really stressful for Sam honestly, because we’ve sort of developed over the first few seasons that Sam and Jay’s mother…have this kind of strange, antagonistic relationship where Sam’s like not in the family group chat for some reason,” he explained. “We don’t know why. We brainstormed a lot of really good reasons. So I think it’s going to be a major chance for Sam to either prove herself to Jay’s family or, more importantly, for Jay’s family to, I think, accept these two people for who they really are and the unconditional love that they clearly have for each other.”
After getting a nod of approval from the showrunners, he jokingly added: “I have no idea what any of the stories are guys, but I’m f*cking crushing this.”
Of course, with Wisocky in the house, the discussion eventually turned to the deeply emotional Season 3 episode, “Holes Are Bad,” which revealed (to audiences and to the rest of the characters) that Hetty had taken her own life. The series had begun to reveal some of the ghosts’ causes of death over the course of the three seasons, but Hetty’s remained a mystery.
The reveal unlocked a poignant discussion about mental health that will surely continue in Season 4. As for how Hetty will move forward with that information out in the world, Wisocky says “Hetty is a woman of contradiction.”
“I don’t know that she’s necessarily going to be a good person now,” she continued, admitting: “I think she’s learned a really powerful, in the moment lesson about empathy, and I can’t see that not affecting her and her relationships in the house. I think she probably was more vulnerable than she’s ever been this particular group of people.”
Ghosts returns to CBS for Season 4 on October 17, just in time for Halloween. Speaking of, the showrunners also said audiences can expect the annual Halloween episode as well as another hour-long Christmas special for this season.