‘Ghosts’ Star Rose McIver to Direct Episode; Jay’s parents revealed
“Ghosts” star Rose McIver will be behind the camera to direct an episode of the hit CBS comedy, which was unveiled Saturday during the show’s panel at New York Comic-Con. The episode, which will begin filming soon and air in 2025, marks the first time McIver will direct a TV series.
In “Ghosts,” McIver plays Sam, who inherits an old haunted house that she and her husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) convert into a bed and breakfast – much to the chagrin of the ghosts Sam can communicate with. This year, viewers will be able to meet Jay’s parents for the first time during the show’s hour-long Christmas special.
Francis Hills/Gerard Sandoval
Sakina Jaffrey (“Billions,” “The Mindy Project”) and Bernard White (“The Matrix,” “Silicon Valley”) have been cast as Jay’s parents, Champa and Mahesh, in the two-part episode, which airs Thursday. December 19.
In the episodes “A Very Arondekar Christmas Part 1” and “A Very Arondekar Christmas Part 2,” according to the logline, “an accident involving a leaky water heater threatens to ruin holiday plans as Sam and Jay prepare to organize Jay’s hard-to-find pleasing father Mahesh (Bernard White), hard-to-impress mother Champa (Sakina Jaffrey) and sister Bela (Punam Patel).”
Here are more details about the characters: Champa “is Jay’s mother, who adores Jay but has much less patience for her daughter-in-law Sam, whom she blames for Jay moving far away from them. Champa controls the family’s text chain, known as the ‘Core Four,’ which Sam desperately wants access to.”
As for Jay’s father Mahesh, “Although he secretly respects his son’s culinary talents, Mahesh still harbors hopes that Jay will become an engineer instead of relying on the risky activities of the B&B and restaurant.”
McIver and three of the ghosts – Brandon Scott Jones (Isaac), Sheila Carrasco (Flower) and Román Zaragoza (Sassapis) – appeared on the NYCC “Ghosts” panel, moderated by “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil.
“Ghosts,” which returns for Season 4 and airs Thursdays at 8:30 on CBS, also stars Richie Moriarty, Danielle Pinnock, Asher Grodman, Rebecca Wisocky and Devan Chandler Long.
Joe Port and Joe Wiseman are executive producers, along with Richie Keen, Matthew Baynton, Jim Howick, Simon Farnaby, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond and Martha Howe-Douglas, Alison Carpenter, Debra Hayward and Alison Owen (Monumental Television) and Angie Stephenson ( BBC Studios). CBS Studios is behind the show, in association with Lionsgate Television and BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions.
McIver’s other credits include “iZombie,” as well as the Netflix films “A Christmas Prince,” “The Royal Wedding” and “The Royal Baby.”
