Image via Bertrand Calmeau/CBS
Published May 21, 2026, 10:00 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.
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Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for the Season 6 finale of Ghosts.
Just like that, the first hour-long finale for Ghosts has officially come and gone. While Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) landed some pretty major wins in the thrilling and chaotic climax of the two episodes, Season 5 also leaves us on one of the most emotional cliffhangers we’ve ever had. When complications keep Pete (Richie Moriarty), Jay, and Kyle (Ben Feldman) overseas longer than they intended, Pete’s heroism in the fight to save Woodstone leads to him completely disappearing before the trio can make it home. Where he’s gone, and what that disappearance means, is something we’ll have to ponder all summer until the series returns in October.
To unpack the wildly eventful pair of episodes — and get a taste of what’s to come — I sat down with showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman. During our conversation, we spoke about why they chose to solve some of Sam and Jay’s more expected cliffhangers with Sam’s movie script and saving the mansion, making that bonkers lore drop with “Fancy Nancy,” and what to expect from Season 6’s opening holiday specials. The pair also confirmed that there will be a time jump, breaking tradition from previous season finales.
After a few weeks of financial and commercial struggles for Sam and Jay as they dealt with the domino effect of benefiting from Trevor’s job without actually paying taxes on his income, the finale hands each half of our favorite living couple a huge win. In “Across the Pond,” Jay, with a little help from Kyle, Pete, and Halloween’s mummy ghost, Amenhotep (Farhang Ghajar), gets the proof they need to declare Woodstone a historic landmark and prevent Evercreek from tearing it down and building a data center. Meanwhile, Sam stands up for herself after a rousing and heartfelt pep talk from the ghosts -- and in doing so, manages to not only sell her movie script but also guarantee that she gets to be the one writing it.
“We wanted to give them a win,” said Joe Wiseman when asked about delivering these two high-stakes moments for our heroes. “We spend a lot of time putting them in situations where they have financial difficulty or other types of difficulty, and that's because that makes compelling stories, and those issues often don't go away immediately,” he explained. “But by the end of the season, we wanted to end it on a mostly positive note. We were obviously heading toward a very heavy cliffhanger, so we thought that would be set up well by having a moment of joy and victory before we see Pete disappear.”
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
FIND YOUR HERO →
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn't be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
AI absorb everything — every variable, every pattern — and move only when I know the path forward. BI read the room, make the call, and own the consequences. Hesitation costs more than mistakes. CI rally people. A cause needs a voice, and I refuse to let fear be louder than conviction. DI assess the threat, establish what needs doing, and get it done without waiting for permission. EI don't lead. I act. Others can follow or not — I'm already moving.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
APrescience — the ability to see further ahead than anyone else and plan accordingly. BImprovisation — I'm at my best when the plan falls apart and I have to invent a new one. CConviction — I know what I'm fighting for, and that certainty doesn't waver under fire. DComposure — I stay functional when everyone around me is falling apart. Panic is a luxury. EEndurance — I outlast things. I take the hit and keep moving long after others have stopped.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What is the thing you'd sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
AThe survival and dignity of my people — even if I have to become something frightening to ensure it. BThe safety of my crew — every single one of them. No one gets left behind. CFreedom — for my people, for every world still crushed under the weight of an empire. DThe truth — what actually happened, what's actually out there, whether anyone believes me or not. EThe one person — or the one memory — that still makes any of this worth surviving for.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
AWith intensity and distance — I care deeply, but the weight I carry makes closeness complicated. BWith warmth and irreverence — I take the mission seriously, not myself. CWith directness and trust — I say what I mean, and I expect the people I work with to rise to it. DWith professional care but clear limits — I'll protect you, but I won't pretend we're family. EWith wariness that slowly becomes loyalty — I don't trust easily, but when I do, it holds.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
You're facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you're the only one who sees it defines everything.
APrepare in silence. If they won't listen, I'll be ready when they finally have to. BKeep pushing until someone listens — and if no one does, handle it myself. CBuild the case, find the allies, and make the threat impossible to ignore. DDocument everything. The truth matters even if no one believes it yet. EStop trying to convince anyone. Survive it. That's the only argument that counts.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they'd pay it again.
AMy innocence — I've seen what I'm capable of, and I can't unsee it. BPeople I loved — the command chair has a view, but it's a lonely one. CA normal life — I gave up everything ordinary the moment I chose the cause. DMy sense of safety — I know exactly what's out there now, and I can't pretend otherwise. EAlmost everything — and I'm still not sure what I'm carrying it all for. But I keep going.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you're in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What's yours?
AI understand them deeply — and I know exactly which ones must be broken, and why. BI respect the spirit of them and bend the letter when the situation demands it. CThe system is the problem. I'm not here to work within it — I'm here to dismantle it. DI follow protocol until protocol stops being useful. Then I make the call myself. EThe rules collapsed a long time ago. What's left is instinct, and mine are reliable.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
ADestiny — or something that feels so much like it that the difference no longer matters. BThe people on my ship — their faces, their trust, the fact that they're counting on me. CThe belief that what we're fighting for is worth every sacrifice, including this one. DSheer refusal to let it win — whatever it is. I don't stop. That's just who I am. EI'm not sure anymore. But the road is still there, and I'm still on it.
REVEAL MY HERO →
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
- You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
- You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn't ask for but can't escape.
- Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
- That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won't, is exactly you.
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
- You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
- Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you've earned it.
- Kirk's genius isn't tactical — it's human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
- That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of.
- You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
- You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you've never looked back.
- Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
- That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
- You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
- Ripley's heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn't have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
- You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn't there.
- When it counts, you don't flinch. That's everything.
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
- You don't ask for help, don't need validation, and don't wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
- Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it's earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
- Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
- That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
'Ghosts' Showrunners Unpack Pete's Disappearance and "Fancy Nancy"
Image via Bertrand Calmeau/CBSAs far as the cliffhanger Season 5 does end on, Ghosts has officially entered uncharted territory. Ending a season with the implication that we might lose a beloved character is not entirely new for the series — Season 2 sees someone get sucked off, Isaac gets yanked into the dirt in Season 3, and by the end of Season 4, Jay has accidentally signed up for a one-way ticket to hell. While Ghosts will certainly find a way to bring Pete back (Moriarty has made no moves to leave the series), this is the first time we actually see one of our ghosts disappear.
When asked about finally going there with Pete, Joe Port explained that this possibility was set up from the inception of his ghost power. “This is something that we've touched upon, is Pete's jeopardy when he's gone from the property for too long and starts to disappear,” he told Collider. “The few other times that he's been worried about making it back, he's made it back just in time. So, we were waiting for a moment to have him not safely make it back, and then, obviously, the end of the season felt like the right time to do that, especially coupled with Pete, in a very Pete fashion, stepping up and sacrificing to help save Woodstone and Sam and Jay.”
While it leaves the season on a somber note, Port and Wiseman are not treating this moment like the end of a fan-favorite character. Instead, the writer duo is excited to dig into the mystery of what’s actually happened to Pete and the possibilities that finally pulling the trigger on this Chekhov’s gun opens up for the show. “So, now we're left in an interesting position, which is figuring out what that means and where did Pete go, and what will happen to him? So, it's left us with a lot of fun questions,” said Port.
Pete’s disappearance is far from the only major plot twist of the episodes. When it comes down to declaring the house a historical landmark, the missing piece of the puzzle arrives in the form of Woodstone’s most iconic basement ghost, Nancy (Betsy Sodaro). When asked what they look for in terms of story wiggle room for adding a lore drop like the reveal that our beloved dirt troll was once a princess, Wiseman revealed that her “Fancy Nancy” backstory was an idea they’d been wanting to deploy for multiple seasons. “So the idea of Nancy — we called it 'Fancy Nancy' — came up probably a few seasons ago as we were talking about, like, 'Okay, what was her backstory?' And I'm glad we waited because it feels more impactful,” said Wiseman. “I’m glad we waited for a story where it could have a huge consequence for Sam, Jay, and the house. We thought it'd be a surprising ghost, whose stature was substantial enough that it would designate the property as a historical property.”
Ultimately, all of the pieces came together perfectly in the Season 5 finale, allowing Wiseman, Port, and finale writers Akilah Green, Skander Halim, Brian Bahe, and Greg Worswick to find the funniest and most satisfying way to finally pull off the big reveal. Wiseman continued:
"We didn't always see her as a princess, but it seems, as we were breaking out the story, that that was a funny detail, and it just felt like the right time. It felt like we had this funny idea, and then we had a story that was colliding with it, where it could provide a satisfying solution, and I think that's why we did it. [Betsy's] so funny, and flashbacks are always fun to do. Our crew is so good at costumes and sets and props and all that stuff, and it really enriches the series and makes it feel special. It's fun."
What To Expect From 'Ghosts' Season 6
For the first time since the gap between Seasons 1 and 2, Ghosts will jump forward several months when Season 6 officially premieres in October later this year with a 1-hour Halloween special. While Port did not confirm or deny whether we'd get to see Sam filming her holiday rom-com in Joan's (Taylor Ortega) old stomping grounds — or even Hollywood North, aka Vancouver, as a nod to Ghosts itself filming in Canada — he did confirm a time jump is on the books. "We're very familiar with filming in Canada. We shoot Ghosts and now Eternally Yours in Montreal," he laughed. "So, yeah, we are going to do a time jump because when we come back, we're starting with a Halloween special that's, like, an hour-long Halloween special. So, we're going to pick up several months after the finale and catch up with what's been going on, and catch up on what's happening with Sam's movie and what's happening with the ghosts, and what has become of Pete, if anything. So, there's a lot to divine."
With such a significant jump on the horizon, anything could happen at Woodstone — including some major relationship shifts. When asked about the ever-evolving romances on the show, Wiseman played his cards close to his chest, but revealed that the end of Season 5 sets up some interesting potential conflicts for two of our favorite couples. "It seems like Thor [Devan Chandler Long] and Flower [Sheila Carrasco] have kind of been sort of trucking along. Again, we're very early in the writing process. We're on day three. But obviously, it seems like we may want to put a couple of obstacles in their way," he teased. "Flower has this new position as ghost representative; perhaps that'll somehow affect them. We hinted at that in one of the latter episodes, where Thor was kind of rattled because he felt like he wasn't important enough. Perhaps that thread will play through."
Meanwhile, Pete's disappearance leaves his relationship with Alberta (Danielle Pinnock) up in the air. "Alberta obviously is going to be very affected by Pete disappearing," Wiseman told Collider. "We bring up questions of when do you move on? How do you know? What do you do? Etc., etc." Though updates were sparse on fan-favorite pairings like Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) and Trevor (Asher Grodman), Nigel (John Hartman) and Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones), or Joan and Sasappis (Román Zaragoza), Wiseman promised plenty of juicy interpersonal drama ahead, saying, "We're going to continue all those storylines. We agree with you. It feels like ghosts have nothing to do and they're all trapped in a house together; it seems like they would be coupling up and hooking up."
Despite Season 6's unique rollout, Port and Wiseman confirmed that production plans aren't all that different from years past. They've officially opened the writers' rooms for both Ghosts and Eternally Yours and are planning to film both shows concurrently, with cameras expected to begin rolling at the end of the summer. The season premiere will officially serve as both their first hour-long premiere and first hour-long Halloween special. "We've never done that before for Halloween, so that's going to be very exciting," said Port. While Wiseman couldn't reveal any plot details, given the early stages of the writing process, he did confirm that both specials will serve as the beginning of the season rather than separate standalone pieces. He explained:
"They are going to be specials, but they're not going to be standalone. We are going to be addressing the Pete cliffhanger. We're going to be addressing everything. It's just going to be wrapped up into an hour-long Halloween and Christmas episode. These aren't specials in that they're freestanding. They're official canon in respect to the timeline that they're in. As far as what's going to happen, obviously, they're going to be big and fun. They're always fun. Hour-longs are fun. Like I mentioned, we're only day three into the writers’ room, but we already have a ton of really interesting ideas flying around."
Ghosts Season 6 has not set an official release date yet. All previous seasons are available now on Paramount+. Stay tuned at Collider for more updates on all things Ghosts.
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
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Rose McIver
Samantha Arondekar
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Utkarsh Ambudkar
Jay Arondekar
English (US) ·