SDCC ’17: The X-Files Type Buddy Comedy Ghosted Premier In San Diego

 
Gary Catig writes:
Ghosted can be described as an X-Files type buddy comedy, as two guys from different worlds are suddenly partnered together by a secret organization to investigate unexplained phenomena in Los Angeles.
Adam Scott plays disgraced college professor Max Allison who has a brilliant scientific mind and is a firm believer of the supernatural.  Craig Robinson plays his counter point Leroy Wright, a former police officer with his own baggage and is more skeptical of the unexplained.  The show had their very own panel at San Diego Comic Con to debut the pilot more than two months in advance of the television premiere.  At the start of the panel, the two leads came out acting as their own hype men to energize the crowd and introduce the never before seen episode.

The pilot moves at a fast pace as it introduces the main characters, explains their recruitment into the mysterious Bureau Underground, and sets them off on their first case. The pace may move a bit too quickly but it is more out of necessity as the sitcom has shorter time restraints compared to serialized Sci-Fi dramas.
On the comedic side, the show can be inconsistent as the dialog and jokes do not always hit. On the other hand, some of the physical comedy such as the slap scene in the trailer elicit genuine laughs. Some of the show’s stronger aspects include the over-arching mystery into the causes of the paranormal activity and its ties to Scott’s character Max.  Furthermore, the charisma of the two leads as well as their chemistry together make for an enjoyable show. Though the pilot is not perfect, the combination of stars and mystery generate enough intrigue to warrant future viewings.

After the viewing, a Q & A provided further insight into the show.
The two leads were joined onstage by actress Ally Walker, and executive producers Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten.  The executive producers discussed how the show was inspired by 80’s buddy cop movies like 48 Hours and science fiction comedies like Ghostbusters.
They also described Walker’s character Captain Lafrey as a Steve Jobs and Phil Jackson type who is a great motivator and who is not against putting her subordinates’ feet to the fire in order to inspire greatness.
In addition, they spoke about the addition of Amber Stevens West to the show as a tech and weapons expert.  Later both Scott and Robinson expressed the difficulty sometimes for the show to be funny, but also maintain an aura of suspense. They found themselves editing out jokes from certain scenes to not take away from the tension.
Some questions shifted to more personal experiences with the unexplained as one of the executive producers recollected a time he heard weird noises in his home, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be a home invasion.
The cast, since they were at SDCC embraced their geekier side by stating which characters they would cosplay as.  Walker would choose Captain Kirk while Scott shared the same enthusiasm for Game of Thrones as his Parks and Recreations character Ben Wyatt by wanting to dress up as Cersei Lannister.  Robinson showed his love for Futurama by wanting to cosplay as Zapp Brannigan.
Ghosted premieres this fall on October 1 and can be seen on Sundays at 8:30 pm.