The showrunners behind CBS’s hit comedy ‘Ghosts‘ have detailed the major events of the Season 5 midseason finale and teased significant storylines for the show’s return, promising fans “a lot of fun stuff” to come in 2026.
In a two-part holiday special that aired this week, Sam Arondekar (Rose McIver) experienced another chaotic ghostly possession, a poignant visit from a departed spirit, and a major cliffhanger that will introduce a new group of spectral residents to Woodstone Mansion. Co-showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman confirmed the series will return with new episodes on Thursday, February 26, 2026, directly continuing from the finale’s surprising ending.
The Christmas Possession and a ‘Wonderful’ Lesson
The midseason finale, titled “It’s a Wonderful Christmas Carol,” saw Sam’s plans for a major live television interview to promote her book go hilariously awry. As a misguided Christmas gift, Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long) helped his girlfriend, Flower (Sheila Carrasco), temporarily possess Sam so she could experience physical sensations again. The timing, however, was disastrous, leading to Flower—inhabiting Sam’s body—getting high with the kitchen staff and botching the important interview.
Frustrated after years of ghostly antics, a furious Sam declared, “I wish I had never been able to see ghosts!”. This wish triggered a dream-like journey, guided by the ghost Carol (Caroline Aaron), who had moved on to the afterlife in the Season 5 premiere. Carol showed Sam an alternate reality where she never gained her abilities, revealing that both her life and the ghosts’ existences were worse off without their unique bond.
“One nice thing I like is that it was a way to demonstrate that a lot of the ghosts have come a long way and have really been enriched by the lessons they’ve learned since Sam and Jay moved in,” co-showrunner Joe Wiseman explained.
The showrunners noted that after five seasons, it felt like the right time for Sam, a self-described people-pleaser, to finally push back against the ghosts’ constant demands. This moment of tension ultimately served to highlight the profound, positive impact the living and the dead have had on each other.
A New Spectral Romance and the Arrival of “The Others”
While Sam dealt with her possession, another unexpected relationship began to blossom in the mansion. Trevor (Asher Grodman), feeling isolated as a Jewish ghost during Christmas, found common ground with Patience (Mary Holland), a Quaker whose faith also didn’t celebrate the holiday. Their commiseration led to a surprising kiss, which Port described as “one of the weirdest scenes we’ve had in the history of the series thus far”.
This new connection has major implications for the show’s lore. At the episode’s end, Patience told Trevor she was ready for him to meet “the Others,” a group of ghosts she has mentioned before. The finale closed with the silhouettes of these new characters entering, setting up a central plot for the show’s return.
“We’re going to meet the Others,” Wiseman confirmed. “We’re basically going to pick up where the previous episode left off, and that was part of our decision”.
The “Others” were first name-dropped back in Season 3, and the showrunners felt that after a year and a half, it was the perfect time to finally explore this long-teased part of the Woodstone world.
What to Expect When ‘Ghosts’ Returns in February
With the show on a break until February 26, 2026, the showrunners provided a glimpse of the “fun stuff” awaiting fans in the back half of Season 5. The return of several fan-favorite characters and holiday traditions is on the agenda.
- Another St. Patrick’s Day with Hetty: Following the establishment last season that Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) can be seen by the living every St. Patrick’s Day, the show will feature another “St. Patrick’s Day/St. Hetty’s Day” episode, which Wiseman suggests could become an annual tradition like the Halloween and Christmas specials.
- Long-Awaited Callbacks: Several story threads from past seasons will be revisited. This includes following up on Trevor’s secret finance job and Jay’s (Utkarsh Ambudkar) ongoing struggle to pretend to be a man named Michael Jackson in Trevor’s stead. The living man named Kyle, who can also see ghosts and occasionally babysits them, will return as well.
- Higher Stakes: As the season progresses, Port hinted that the characters will face “some really big stakes,” with Sam and Jay discovering the upsides of having the ghosts as allies.
The final episodes of the season will also continue to explore the shifting dynamics between the living and the dead, acknowledging that while Sam and Jay have grown more willing to set boundaries, the core, chaotic fun of their cohabitation remains.
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