TV Review – Fox’s Ghosted S01

One year after bringing The X-Files back to TV, Fox kicks off the 2017-2018 TV season with new buddy comedy Ghosted. Hailed as one of the most anticipated new series, Ghosted struggles to find its footing in the series premiere, but hope springs eternal for a series that produced the funniest promos this year. Based on popular movies such as Poltergeist and Alien, the promos are worth checking out to realize the potential this series holds.
Starring TV alums Adam Scott (Parks & Recreation) and Craig Robinson (The Office), Ghosted replaces Scully and Mulder with Max (Scott) and Leroy (Robinson) and the FBI with the Bureau Underground. Like Mulder, Max is a believer of the paranormal and unexplained while Leroy plays the part of Sully, the initial skeptic.
The series premiere finds Max and Leroy kidnapped by the Bureau Underground who promise to improve both of their down-in-the-dump careers if the men help with a mission to locate kidnapped Agent Checker. Max, a former Stanford astrophysicist professor who lost his career when he shared his belief that he his wife was abducted by aliens, now works in a bookstore. Leroy is a former LAPD detective who is now working as a mall cop. The partners’ first mission include a few laughs including a headless alien chase, but overall, the series is clearly a work in progress.
Chemistry between the leads will be the ultimate key to success as Barry Shaw (Adeel Akhtar), an unidentifiable evidence expert at the Bureau Underground, is the only memorable supporting cast member. In the premiere, just as Max and Leroy are developing chemistry as partners, so is the audience trying to determine if there is enough chemistry to stick with the series for an entire season. Starring together in Hot Tub Time Machine 2 and Knocked Up, it is a bit concerning that the chemistry between Scott and Robinson feels forced. Many a series took time to establish a rhythm, so here’s to hoping that crooner Robinson and comedian Scott can quickly hit the right note.