Pilot Review: Ghosted

Ghosted (Sundays at 8:30 on Fox; Premieres October 1)

On paper, there's a lot right about Ghosted, Fox's only new comedy on its fall schedule. You have two beloved, respected, funny leads in Craig Robinson (The Office, Mr. Robot) and Adam Scott (Parks & Recreation, Big Little Lies, Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later). You have a paranormal premise debuting just in time for Halloween. You have an offbeat director in Jonathan Krisel who's created some of the most meme-worthy content of the past several years on Portlandia.

But when it comes to comedy, just because it works on paper doesn't always mean it works on screen, and Ghosted is a prime example of this.

If you've seen any promotional materials for Ghosted, you have an exact idea of what the show is: a blend of Ghostbusters and The X-Files. It's so closely related to these shows, in fact, that I wouldn't be surprised if creator Tom Gormican (a TV newcomer whose only other writing credit is the truly awful film That Awkward Moment) literally used it as his logline pitch to Fox. Scott is Max Jennifer, a former physicist who lost his job as a college professor after writing a book about believing in the paranormal and the theory of the multiverses. Now he works at a bookstore, and he's kidnapped in the first minute of the pilot. Robinson is Leroy Wright, a former cop working mall security after something happened to his partner, causing him to leave the force and his life behind. He's kidnapped in the second minute of the pilot. Their captors are a government organization exploring the supernatural, the Bureau Underground (great name, guys!), led by Captain Ava Lafrey (Ally Walker). The Bureau bargains with them to find a missing operative whose final words were to ask Max and Leroy for help, and off we go.

If you think the idea of a sitcom Ghost Hunters with Scott and Robinson running around solving ridiculous paranormal mysteries with heaps of wit and slapstick thrown in, welcome to the club. That show would have been great. But Ghosted isn't that. The pilot is utterly devoid of laughs and completely fails to play to its leads' strengths. Scott can deliver a biting one-liner beautifully; Robinson can play sarcasm and physical comedy wonderfully. But instead of giving the actors these things to work with, the setup is blown through in just a couple minutes only to allow for an extended sequence of Robinson singing "Higher Love" (yes, the second pilot of the season to prominently feature the Steve Winwood tune) while Scott tries to get his attention. It's painful, and it's the only scene in the entire episode where it's obvious that the show is being played for laughs, despite them not landing. The rest is a very standard homage to The X-Files (skeptic vs. believer, shady government organization, potential alien life) and Ghostbusters (right down to a synthesized score that sounds remarkably like a Ray Parker, Jr. melody and the muted palate of dark blues and grays).

There are clear moments where Gormican tried to make his characters quirky, like Leroy admitting he's scared of ducks or Max wondering aloud if he should sign the missing person's copy of his book, but they come across as trying too hard and accomplishing too little. These actors are funny! Let them do funny things! It's not difficult. How can you make such a slog out of something that should have easily been, at the very least, amusing?