Ghosts Australia review: lightweight dramedy is slow to launch

It’s not hard to figure out why networks like making local versions of overseas formats. They’re tried and tested, with the bugs worked out and scripts already written – though usually they get at least a bit of a going over to make them more in tune with the new market. And if they don’t always work? Well, it’s not like homegrown programs do much better.

Ghosts Australia has the minor misfortune of arriving in the wake of the Australian version of The Office, a show nobody wanted and almost nobody watched. But where the UK version of The Office was a legitimate hit here and the US version was at least well-regarded, Ghosts – in both its UK and US editions – has kept something of a lower profile.

Is that going to be enough for it to break out of the shadow of those earlier versions? Well, it does feature an aerobics instructor who died in the 1980s asking if Kylie and Jason are still together, so there’s that.

The Ghosts hit formula gets an Australian cast

If you’ve seen the UK version on the ABC, or the US version on Ten, then you’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect from Ghosts Australia. Young couple Kate (Tamala) and Sean (Rowan Witt), fresh from inspecting a range of potential homes that are ‘murder and mushroomy’, strike it lucky when they inherit a big old mansion – which looks amazing. If nothing else, this series is a great advertisement for living in a haunted house.

Kate figures they can do it up and turn it into a B&B; he’s leaning more towards cashing in and getting out.

Unbeknownst to them, the place is haunted. Here’s the roster: the convict-era Eileen (Mandy McElhinney) who went through hell running the pub the mansion originally was and won’t let anyone forget it; Gideon (Brent Hill), a snooty naval commander speared by the locals while acting like he owned the place; Joon (George Zhao), a somewhat unfocused Chinese gold miner who died minus his pants; Lindy (Michelle Brasier), an 80s aerobics instructor who isn’t letting death stifle her go-getting attitude; sharp-tongued heiress Miranda (Ines English); and bikie-slash-2IC to Gideon, Satan (Jackson Tozer). Plus a lot of convicts caged up in the shed who like it there because the darkness reminds them of the ship. ‘Such a magical time,’ it seems.

Presumably nobody who died between roughly 1885 and 1985 decided to stick around, though that large gap is pretty handy as the broad comedy stereotype for Australians in that period is ‘massive racist’. As for the dubious nature of white spirits hanging around a colony, Gideon seems set up to take the brunt of the cultural commentary. ‘I smell invasion,’ he says upon the arrival of Kate and Sean. ‘Aye, that would be yourself,’ says Eileen.

Watch the Ghosts Australia trailer

Ghosts Australia: Ensemble sitcom gets off to a solid but slow start

Episode one is largely about putting all the pieces in place. The ghosts aren’t happy with their new landlords, their attempts to scare them away only result in Kate having a near-ish death experience that leads to her being able to see and hear the ghosts, and by the end it’s clear that the very foundation of human society has been shattered by conclusive proof of life after death. Hang on, no it’s not.

Episode two (only the first two episodes were made available to critics) has both sides of the spectral divide coming to terms with the new status quo. Some want the ‘breathers’ to leave (that’d be Gideon). Kate has to persuade herself and then Sean that her visions are real, and then they have to decide if they want to live in a crumbling mansion full of the dead.

It’s no surprise that by the end just about everyone has realised they’re just going to have to live – in a manner of speaking – with each other. Guess the lucky living couple shouldn’t have said all that stuff about just wanting it to be the two of them at the start of the first episode.

For a sitcom this is a pretty slow start, but for the most part it works. The characters have always been a big part of the appeal of every version of Ghosts. It’s still up in the air as to whether any of the new crop will become stand outs – though it’s pretty clear Lindy is intended to deliver a lot of the laughs with her steady stream of hilariously retro comments. (Met Rolf Harris. Thought he was harmless.) But taking the time to introduce the characters properly is the smart way to go.

Especially as the humour is often overwhelmed by pretty much everything else that’s going on. When Eileen says, ‘Not that you’ll hear me complaining,’ and Joon replies, ‘I always hear you complaining,’ it almost works as a character set-up – she complains a lot; he often states the obvious – but as comedy? It’ll take more than a bump on the head to raise jokes like that from the dead.

Ghosts Australia is best approached as a lightweight, well-crafted dramedy rather than a rapid-fire joke machine. Kate and Sean are likable enough, and the ghosts have just enough going on to suggest they’ll develop beyond one-note comedy stereotypes being confused by new technology. It’s a solid start. Hopefully all the overseas experience will help this version sand down its rough edges fast. Australia’s already haunted by enough failed overseas formats.

Ghosts Australia premieres 2 November on 10 And Paramount+.

This article was amended after publication, on 3 November at 9:23am, to remove the surname of the lead actor, Tamala, who goes by her first name only. ScreenHub apologises for the error, which was made during subediting.

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