‘Ghosts’ Season 5 Finale Tease Gives Fans 1 Massive Reason to Watch [Exclusive]

2 weeks ago 24

Rose McIver Utkarsh Ambudkar Season 5 Ghosts Finale

Published May 14, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

Sam is a News Editor for Collider and a known lover of all things sci-fi and horror. She spends her days editing news stories, coodrinating exclusives, and working closely with writers to deliver their best work.

When she's not editing the daily news, she can be found hanging out with her wife (they're probably rewatching Ghosts for the millionth time), tweeting about romance, and cooking something delicious while belting to Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter's latest hits at the top of her lungs.

Tonight's new episode of Ghosts featured a familiar face for longtime fans of the series as Rose Abdoo (Hacks) returned as reality TV producer Paula. The return of the comedy legend marked a particularly satisfying win for the residents of Woodstone B&B, as not only did they successfully land a lucrative TV location deal for the B&B, but Paula also took Sam's (Rose McIver) rom-com script back to her studio for review. With the potential for Sam's script to actually become a movie, things are finally turning around for her and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) after a particularly tricky string of financial mishaps. Ahead of "Polar Opposites," I sat down with Abdoo to discuss her return to the series, as well as to get an inside look at bringing an episode of Ghosts to life, and a particularly thrilling tease for next week's hour-long finale.

When asked what it was like to come back to the series and reprise her one-off guest role from Season 2, Abdoo was simply delighted to come back after four years away from the series. "Oh, I just love that they called Paula back to go to Woodstone. I mean, she had so much fun the first time," said Abdoo. "And the idea that this reality show is going to be filmed in Woodstone, and that the ghosts are excited about it. And I love the addition of, you know, falling in love with Rose’s — Samantha’s — screenplay of Polar Opposites." Much like Abdoo, who has over 100 acting credits under her belt, "Paula is just so excited to do double duty of a reality show and a romantic comedy, because she's just got both producer hats on at the same time." And we haven't seen the last of producer Paula — Abdoo also confirmed that we'll see her in next week's finale, saying, "I was just thrilled to be asked back and then to get to do the season finale."

Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.

APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone.

NEXT QUESTION →

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.

AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.

NEXT QUESTION →

What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.

AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.

ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.

AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches.

NEXT QUESTION →

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.

AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.

NEXT QUESTION →

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.

AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.

NEXT QUESTION →

What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.

AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot.

REVEAL MY WORLD →

Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.

You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.

You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.

Blade Runner

You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it.

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.

You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

Rose Abdoo Reveals the Best Part of Working on 'Ghosts'

00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Rose Abdoo as Paula Photo: Philippe Bossé/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When asked about preparing to return to a role like Paula, Abdoo revealed that she still has all of her guest roles saved on an "old-fashioned DVR." When she got the call to come back for Ghosts, she pulled up Season 2's "Dumb Deaths" to familiarize herself with the world and her character once more. "I watched it, and I laughed all over again," said Abdoo. Second to the laughs, she immediately reached out to wardrobe to make sure they still had the piece that Abdoo knew would get her right back into the role. "The very first thing I did was make sure I contacted wardrobe, saying, 'I hope you still have her glasses.' She had such a distinct — they, they were so wonderful with the wardrobe, and that's part of it for me. It’s very external. Once I had Paula's glasses back on [and] her loafers, I was ready to go."

Echoing the sentiments of other Season 5 guest stars like Iain Armitage and Jeff Hiller, Abdoo had only the highest praise for the cast. While fans often compare watching Ghosts to a warm hug, Abdoo makes it clear that that energy stems from the love the cast has for each other behind the scenes. You know, the most fun thing about Ghosts, which is why it was a dream to come back as a guest again, is the way that they get along on camera and off camera," said Abdoo. "They're a family." When the cast isn't on set, they're often hanging out in a shared space at the studio surrounded by all of their dressing rooms. Abdoo noted that the "communal" atmosphere contributed to the warm, welcoming environment on set, saying, "It's a very communal feel where their dressing rooms sort of face this communal table, and we get to hang out together, which is key when it's cold outside too. You know, it's just this very communal feeling, and it's so much fun."

Abdoo continued singing the praises of the cast, saying:

"They are just the most welcoming people. You don't feel like the new kid on the block. They were just as warm and welcoming as ever, and you could see how they bonded even more from Season 2 all the way to this one we were just working on [in Season 5]. It was just wonderful to see them all again. And, I had a ball with them. It's just wonderful. Like the ghosts together — I was telling someone the hardest part of being on Ghosts is trying not to look at the ghosts. You’re not supposed to be able to see them. But all you do is wanna look at them and laugh with them, you know?"

Rose Abdoo Loved Being "Gaslit" on 'Ghosts' Season 5

00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L to R: Rose Abdoo as Paula, Danielle Pinnock as Alberta, Taylor Ortega as Joan, Román Zaragoza as Sasappis, and Rose McIver as Samantha Photo: Philippe Bossé/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

No stranger to the world of rom-coms herself, Abdoo joked that her favorite from her own career is My Best Friend's Wedding, nodding to not only the "sweet" memories of the film but the "wonderful" residuals over the years. That mindset flows beautifully into the backstory she crafted for her Ghosts character. "I think that the idea that Paula loves to produce — because I think my character, the backstory is: those things always make money," laughed Abdoo. "You take a small town girl or a small town guy, and you put the big city girl with him. I mean, the formula is comforting, and people love it. And every year they'll watch the same one over and over again. And Paula wants on that, money-wise."

While Ghosts is known for being a very improv-friendly set, Abdoo loved what Emily Schmidt and Rupinder Gill had written for her in the script so much that she didn't feel the need to get in on the improv herself. "The script was so hilarious that I just loved my lines. I think there wasn't anything really to add to it," she said. While she didn't do any improv, she certainly enjoyed watching the Ghosts cast indulge, "I mean, they're wonderful. It was fun to watch them and, again, try not to laugh."

For Abdoo, making an episode of Ghosts sounds as fun as it is for the audience to watch the finished product. "I just thought it was so funny that Taylor [Ortega’s] character was gaslighting me. I mean, it was just like the dream," said Abdoo. "I love the moment where she finds the script. They find the script in the garbage, and she's just like, ‘I ordered all these purses. I don't know what's going on.’ I mean, it's just very funny. I could imagine that happening to me in real life," she laughed.

For Abdoo, trusting the writers is essential for making good comedy. "Trust the words, you know, and trust the writing and the timing," she said when asked if she had any essential rules for making something funny. "It is amazing how skilled editors can make a comedy. You know, it's like the reaction shots." Her biggest piece of advice for any aspiring comedy actors is something that the Ghosts cast is very familiar with: "I feel like for comedy, always be doing something. Then you never know when an edit is going to cut back to your reaction." Fans of Ghosts know that one of the great joys of the show is catching hilarious reactions and one-liners between every other joke. Abdoo spoke about her own experience bringing those moments to life, saying:

"It's so much fun for me to play the beats between the times where I'm talking, too, is that maybe they'll use a reaction [that] is almost as funny as some of the lines, too. So to always be on your toes and aware of what's going on in a scene is just so much fun. And I'm very fortunate to have been trained in Second City, which is a great improv theater, and to be always in the moment and very aware and listening to what's happening to all the characters around, because there's so much comedy to be mined from the things happening to other people. But the way you feel about it, I think."

A ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Hacks’ Crossover? Rose Abdoo Already Has the Perfect Idea

Rose Abdoo's Josefina, Mark Indelicato's Damien, Jean Smart's Deborah, and Hannah Einbinder's Ava hugging in Hacks.

Abdoo is also known for her role as Deborah Vance's (Jean Smart) housekeeper, Josefina, on the beloved comedy series Hacks, which is currently barreling towards its own Season 5 finale. When asked what Josephina would think of Paula, and likewise what Paula would think of comedy legend Deborah Vance, Abdoo was thrilled to think of those two worlds colliding. "Oh, I love this question. You know, first of all, Josephina would be thrilled with Paula's wardrobe," she laughed. "Josephina has an inner style icon that she never really got to express. Josephina loves animal prints, and she loves jewelry, and she wants to take Deborah Vance's clothing whenever she has a chance to. We didn't get to see her dressed up too much." She continued:

"So she loves Paula's style and her ballsiness. And I think Josephina would fancy herself able to produce if Deborah would let her. She would try and produce some TV shows for her too. And Paula just thinks Deborah Vance is her favorite comedian. That's it. She loves her. Everything from her style to her timing to everything. Rose loves Jean. Josephina loves Deborah, Paula also loves Deborah."

I suggested that Paula would try to cast Deborah in one of her holiday rom-coms, and Abdoo was immediately on board, she said, "100%. I mean, they would get along like a house on fire. They have the same type of no nonsense, very fun, and can take a joke, and would love to play. I think Paula and Deborah Vance would love to play practical jokes on other people. [...] I love that crossover idea. I love you for giving me that."

While Hacks has primarily filmed in a very warm environment for the last five years, Abdoo welcomed the chilly Montreal weather when she came up to film her episodes of Ghosts. "You know, it was exhilarating. And I am Michigan born and bred. I'm from Detroit originally, and I lived in Chicago for almost 20 years. So it was like, 'Oh, I remember down coats and layers, long underwear, fur hood.' You know, it was fun for me to get back into it," said Abdoo. While she doesn't know if she'd love the weather year-round, she said, "I felt very alive in the eight-degree weather in Montréal. The people are so nice, and they're hearty, and I feel like people who live in cold climates really earn their spring. You know, when it gets to be nice weather, they've gone through it. They earned those days off with no coat on. The people come alive. Whereas in LA, everyone is sort of in the same mood all the time."

'Ghosts' Season 5 Is Set To Deliver an "Exciting" Finale

While Abdoo was hesitant to give away too much about the season finale, she was able to tease that "it's exciting for the Samantha character, for Rose's character. Something very exciting happens for her, I'll say that. And I'm involved in it. Paula's involved in it." Is there hope for a Polar Opposites movie after all? We'll have to tune in next week to find out!

Ghosts Season 5 will air a 1-hour finale next week on May 21, in a slightly later time slot with back-to-back episodes at 9 and 9:30 PM ET on CBS. The series has already been renewed for Season 6 and will return with two holiday specials this fall. Stay tuned at Collider for more from our conversation with Abdoo and much more.

Release Date October 7, 2021

Directors Christine Gernon, Jaime Eliezer Karas, Katie Locke O'Brien, Nick Wong, Jude Weng, Pete Chatmon, Richie Keen, Alex Hardcastle, Kimmy Gatewood, Matthew A. Cherry, Cortney Carrillo

Writers Emily Schmidt, John Timothy, Lauren Bridges, Sophia Lear, Guy Endore-Kaiser, Rishi Chitkara, Julia Harter, Skander Halim, Zora Bikangaga