SPOOKY SEASON

How CBS Accidentally Created a Supernatural Comedy Empire

Vampires, spirits, and bromance, oh my! I chatted with the stars of “Eternally Yours” and “Ghosts” about their supernatural comedy dominance.

This piece first ran on the Obsessed by Kevin Fallon Substack. Subscribe here to read more like it!

Ghosts star Utkarsh Ambudkar and Eternally Yours star Ed Weeks are the new leading men of CBS comedy. So the question remains: Which one is Charlie Sheen, and which is Jim Parsons?

“We’re probably both the Jon Cryer,” Ambudkar said, referencing Sheen’s Two and a Half Men co-star. “Actually, I’m the little boy.”

Ambudkar is entering his sixth season on Ghosts, the smash-hit comedy about a hotel owner who can see and communicate with all the spirits who died on the property over the centuries. Adapted from the UK series of the same name, it’s become a ratings success and the cornerstone of CBS’ comedy lineup.

Weeks’ series, Eternally Yours, debuted this fall, centering on a coven of vampires who live and work among real humans in Seattle. It’s from the creators of Ghosts, Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, known as “The Joes” to the series’ casts, leading to what’s now a block of high-concept supernatural comedy on the network.

Before sharing a time slot, Ambudkar and Weeks were friends for over a decade, first meeting when Ambudkar joined the cast of Mindy Kaling’s comedy, The Mindy Project. With Ghosts and Eternally Yours airing their Halloween specials Thursday, we chatted with the pair about their friendship, their shows’ successes, and all things spooky.

Do you feel some sort of special tingle because of the themes of your shows now that Halloween is coming around?

Ed: We’re just overjoyed to be riding the coattails of Ghosts, honestly.They’ve done such incredible Halloween episodes the past few years. I’m just so thrilled that we’re in such esteemed company.

Utkarsh: To speak to Ed’s coattail reference, we’re riding the coattails of the BBC version of Ghosts, which set up such a wonderful premise for us to then Americanize as only we can, as only CBS can. Halloween has become something really special for us and our fans. It’s become an event, and that was created so much by fluke, just by kismet. We decided to do this hour-long special on Halloween, and the first one just hit out of the park. And the fans really gravitate towards it every year in a way that excites us. So it really is this sort of circuit that we’ve built with us and the fans that’s kept the momentum going. And I can only hope that Eternally Yours enjoys the same fan service that we do, because it is really fun.

Have you been experiencing that so far, Ed, with Eternally Yours?

Ed: Everybody’s been very nice so far. I try not to look at social media or reviews too much because I find that it gets in my head. It’s our inaugural Halloween episode. My character Charles gets very offended that people dress up in s--tty vampire costumes. As he says, “My culture is not your costume.” So he’s kind of a Halloween Scrooge, which is always a fun place to start from. So we’ll see if his Halloween heart gets melted this year.

Where do both of you stand on that spectrum of Halloween Scrooge to Halloween enthusiast?

Ed: I mean, you, you have kids, Utkarsh, so I guess you’re probably more of a Halloween fan than I am.

Utkarsh: I would say I am a, a convert, a Halloween convert. Yes. Against, and against my own will. The missionaries came into my home. The missionaries were my children. And they forced me with their stories and their costumes and their candy to become one of them. And now it is probably the most important holiday of the year. I’m doing triple duty on each child. So I dress, go to some houses, come home, dress, redress with the other child, go to some houses, come home, dress for the third.

Ed: Do you feel like when I have kids, I will convert? Because up till now it’s left me very cold. I wonder if as actors, we’re getting dressed up in costumes so much anyway, the idea of a costume party, it’s, it’s never really excited me. Just because I kinda do it professionally.

Utkarsh: As you get older, the context around Halloween changes. You’re dressing up for very different reasons. I think seeing the wonder and the belief in a child’s eyes wakes you up to the holiday again because it really is so much about the candy, the pillowcase, the bag, the communing with friends. It’s so beautiful for them and innocent that it becomes something fun for me again. And then when they stop doing it, I will be happy.

I know that two of you have known each other for a while. Do you remember when you first met, how you first met, and what that sort of connection was like?

Utkarsh: We met on The Mindy Project, right? I was very nervous and quite, like, really green on TV, and it was my first, quote-unquote, “big television job.” Mindy had seen, and her guys had seen Pitch Perfect, and had offered me the role of Rishi, which had never happened before. I was doing an off-Broadway play in New York. I’d not been offered a television show in my life. They offered this to me, and I showed up, and Ed played, like he is in real life, a very intelligent, eloquent, well-spoken guy.

Ed: One of those hilarious characters, you know, intelligent and well-spoken.

Utkarsh: But, but quite neurotic, right? You had that quality to play as a comedian, which was really nice. But I remember showing up and just trying my best to fit in, and Ed and everyone were really lovely and very, as most successful television show casts are, very welcoming.

Ed: You didn’t seem unconfident in the slightest. You just seemed so full of fun and jokes, and I just remember instantly it felt like you’d always been there. We were joshing around and joking and taking the piss out of each other, and you just instantly felt like one of the gang. You just were so comfortable. You made me very comfortable because sometimes guest stars would come on, and they would maybe have some air or something about them. I was myself green. It was my first Hollywood sitcom, but, yeah, I remember just instantly palling around.

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Utkarsh: I had some help because Anna Camp was on the show from Pitch Perfect. And Kelen Coleman was on the show. Kelen and I grew up in the same town in Maryland together. So I knew her, so I had some, like, home field advantage. And then as Ed said, like, we were all kind of new, so when you’re new at something, you generally are much nicer to people.

Ed: I think we were all just kind of pinching ourselves that we were even there.

Utkarsh: Mindy opened up so many doors for me. And being able to stay in contact with Ed and Ike Barinholtz and Chris Messina over the years… it’s just really nice when you feel like you’re part of a story that lasted that long, you know?

Ed: The Mindy universe. We have Jaren Lewison in our show, who plays Max, who was on Never Have I Ever for many years. Another member of the Mindy-verse.

Utkarsh: And Jaren, you’re welcome because I’m the one who told The Joes to get you, boy. I knew my guy was struggling, flunking classes at USC, and I said, “Hey, my guy Jaren needs some help. He’s a sweet guy. He’s a sweet kid. Help him out.” And they did. You’re welcome. They let him bust. I coulda had my pick of anyone, and I chose you, Jaren. You’re welcome. Any young man could’ve done it. Chalamet was blowing me up.

In case it isn’t obvious, you are joking. Just wanted to clarify that. But it’s interesting you mentioned that about recommending Jaren to The Joes, because I was going to ask if you had any part in recommending Ed to them for Eternally Yours.

Utkarsh: I did put Jaren on their radar because I think the world of him, and I had nothing to do with Ed. Ed, I mean, he carries his own gravitas and weight, and he’s perfect for this character on Eternally Yours. I don’t know that anyone else could pull it off with as much, like, likable, um, what do you call it? Condescension as he does.

Ed: Exactly. He’s gonna be this kinda likable, sort of high-status d---, which is interesting. But I was weirdly, I came on board, like, seven years ago.

Utkarsh: Oh, Ed’s story is incredible.

Ed: Before, I think, the U.S. Ghosts had even come out, like right before the pandemic, this started life for me, uh, on a podcast called The Dead Pilot Society, where they would hold staged readings of pilots that had been bought but not picked up to series. And so at this point, Eternally Yours was just a pilot that hadn’t been picked up to series by CBS.

The guy who runs the podcast, Andrew Reich, a fantastic writer, called me in, and I read the part of Charles, and The Joes were in the audience, and they recorded it for posterity. Then I think the strength of Eternally Yours convinced CBS to let the Joes have a shot at adapting the British TV series, Ghosts. And then the rest of that is history.

Then after Ghosts’ success, I think CBS was happy to take another look at Eternally Yours. So, yeah, seven years later, it comes back on my radar. I get an audition for it. I go in and meet The Joes again, and they say, “We’ve been listening to your voice do this on the podcast for the last seven years, so you better be good.”

Utkarsh: It’s amazing, right? This podcast was the only evidence that they had that their creativity existed. And they couldn’t think of anyone else but Ed, who just said yes to this one thing that he would’ve never dreamed of being a regular on a network show. And there you go. They’re like, “Oh, it’s you. It’s, it’s always been you.”

Ed: It was so weird because I remember thinking I didn’t do particularly well on the podcast. I think I’d gone out the night before to a party. You know me, I think I’d had a couple of drinks. I think I’d swallowed a couple of jokes on the day, and I just kinda left sheepishly without saying goodbye to anybody. But it just goes to show, I suppose, what’s meant for you will not pass you by.

What do you think The Joes are understanding about comedy now that’s really working for what audiences clearly want to be watching?

Ed: I mean, for me, I hope and I pray that our show has a similar formula of heart and humor and hard jokes, but also moments of sentiment. It’s a grounded supernatural show. And to me, there’s something so reassuringly retro about that combination. It almost takes me back to, like, I Dream of Jeannie or Bewitched or some of those ’60s shows where there was a suburban household with a supernatural secret. I always loved that Ghosts never spoke down to the audience. It wasn’t afraid to have sophisticated jokes along with the sillier humor, but it always hit you in the feels. For me, it’s that combination of feels and funny that I hope, I think they’ve achieved again.

Both shows deal with themes of eternity and the afterlife. Even though they’re handled with levity on these shows, they’re heavy concepts to think about and very existential. I’m curious if being a part of these shows has made you think differently about life and death and eternity.

Ed: I wondered when it would get to death. Thanks, Kevin. You should take this. Oh, come on, bro. You’re good on death. You’ll give you a tight five on death. After you, I’ll throw in something dumb at the end.

Utkarsh: If you want the honest answer, the content of he show has not really changed my thoughts regarding what’s important in my life. The practice of being on a hit television show in another country has certainly affected me in ways that are profound. I’ll try and be brief. I had this dream to be the first or one of the first brown men on a billboard in this way, to be accepted into the American zeitgeist as an outsider.

Getting there has been really difficult and rewarding in many ways because I’ve been a jobber for most of my career, and I’ve met incredible people doing that. I got on the billboard, right? CBS. It’s there right above the farmers market that we go to every Sunday. It’s right there, my face with the cast.

The issue is, as this dream came true, another dream came true, which I hadn’t planned for, which is a beautiful wife, three children, a dog, the house, the school community, the sports, all of the stuff that means the world. Actual world to me. And that dream was like, we’re in LA, and then this other dream was like, we’re in Montreal. So now I’ve got these two dreams going at the same time. It’s Simon & Garfunkel. They’re making legendary music together, but they’re not often getting along. It’s the Gallagher brothers. You understand what I’m trying to say?

I know exactly what you’re trying to say.

Utkarsh: So the practice and the gratitude of being on Ghosts as an actor is always buoyed by this feeling of, oh, this dream that I thought was the pinnacle, being on the billboard, is not actually as special as waking up next to my three-year-old daughter. So that revelation has been probably obvious to most people, but for me it’s something that I’m sort of working through and living with and emotionally maturing through every day.

That makes a lot of sense. That was beautiful.

Ed: I feel so lucky because my wife is here, and as yet we don’t have kids, and we’re living in such a lovely walkable part of Montreal. We told ourselves, like who knows, maybe this time next year we’ll have kids. Who knows what the future holds, right? So while we can, let’s walk every night to a restaurant, let’s go to wine bars, let’s see live theater, let’s try and make the most of this moment and not worry about what it all means. Just, just be present. We’ve hung out with the Ghosts here, and they’ve just been the loveliest, most welcoming, slightly kind of roasty with us.

Utkarsh: It’s just sort of our nature. You’re loved. It’s our version of creating family.

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Kevin FallonEditor-at-Large, Obsessed

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