‘Ghosts’ Is Officially Changing Up Its Formula Ahead of Its Season 6 Premiere

Published Sep 29, 2026, 5:32 PM EDT

Taylor Vollman is a contributor at Collider. She has long quipped, “T.V. is my name, TV is my game.” Fortuitous initials aside, at the heart of a tired joke is a simple truth — she has a lifelong passion for television. And along with it, an affinity for movies, music and pop culture. 

In a childhood time capsule, she had listed Friends, PB&J Otter, and Days of Our Lives among her favorite shows. But her tastes have not narrowed with age. Her viewing habits span TV Land classics, network hits, buzzy reality shows and streamer critical darlings. 

Hoping to merge this passion with her love of writing, Taylor earned a bachelor’s in media arts and design with a minor in film studies from James Madison University. After working in marketing for years, she wanted to sharpen her skills and went on to graduate with a master’s in journalism from Georgetown University. Taylor has since pursued entertainment writing and reporting. 

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Woodstone Manor is under new management, or at least the ghosts that inhabit it are. For five seasons, Ghosts has followed Samantha (Rose McIver) as she transforms the upstate New York mansion she inherited into a bed-and-breakfast alongside her husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar). When a head injury leaves her seeing ghosts, she gets the added responsibility of accommodating the whims of her deceased roommates. But when McIver recently took to Instagram to announce the birth of her second child, she revealed Samantha would be absent for the beginning of Season 6.

In her absence, someone has to bridge the gap between the living and the dead. So, the CBS sitcom is turning to their favorite “ghost-sitter.” Ben Feldman plays Kyle, another “living,” who, after being hit by a bird on a roller-coaster, can see ghosts. Viewers first met him in the Season 4 episode aptly titled, “Kyle.” The 46-year-old was promoted to a series regular ahead of the upcoming sixth season, which will return full-time in 2027. Brandon Scott Jones, Danielle Pinnock, Richie Moriarty, Asher Grodman, Rebecca Wisocky, Roman Zaragoza, Devan Chandler Long, and Sheila Carrasco also star as the show’s core group of ghosts.

Ben Feldman Brings a Substitute Teacher Dynamic to ‘Ghosts’

Ghosts set up Feldman’s expanded role and influence in the Season 5 finale, “Across the Pond.” Samantha finally sold the script to her first film, explaining, “The thing is, I’d probably have to be out of town for a little bit for the shoot.” While the ghosts gleefully chanted his name, Kyle agreed to help communicate between the living and dead in her absence. He previously stepped in for Samantha when she went out of town for a book event or baby shower, but this will be his first long-term stay at Woodstone Manor.

Kyle’s not a direct replacement, lacking Samantha’s stability. When she first gained her ability, she had a supportive husband and a new career path with the bed-and-breakfast. She has since grown her network of people who know and believe she can see ghosts. But for Feldman’s character, ghosts have interfered with his ability to maintain a job or relationship. In fact, trying to help a ghost achieve their dying wish inadvertently sent him to prison.

But beside bringing a different energy to the mansion, the ghosts also see him in a different light. Grodman, who plays the pantless ghost Trevor, praised the show creators Joe Port and Joe Wiseman’s ability to play around with the group’s dynamics. “There are moments that we are all like kindergartners and Jay and Sam are our parents, and when Kyle shows up it’s like having the sub [or] the babysitter’s there, and we get to watch TV and stay up late at night,” Grodman explained to TVInsider. He added that the new season is “gonna be a lot of us acting like children, I would imagine; it’s a fun dynamic.” Still, the substitute teacher dynamic can only last for so long since Kyle will be sticking around.

Ben Feldman’s Kyle Is Involved in the Season 5 Cliffhanger

Image via Bertrand Calmeau/CBS

Kyle is already involved in the Season 5 cliffhanger, serving as the go-between for Jay and ghost Pete (Moriarty) during their European mission to save the manor. Unlike the other ghosts, Pete has the ability to travel off-property for limited time frames. It was actually Pete who found Kyle, meeting him in a diner and using Samantha’s ability to speak with ghosts to lure him to Woodstone Manor.

The trio were in London, seeking the necessary proof to establish Woodstone Manor as a historic landmark and prevent its impending demolition. While they were ultimately successful, some diversions in London and a flight delay had them racing the clock to get Pete home before he disappeared. Despite Pete seemingly fading away in the last few seconds, Moriarty has been confirmed to return in Season 6. “I know he’s coming back, but we don’t know how,” Pinnock, who plays the jazz singing ghost Roberta, told People over the summer. “So it’s still very much a mystery for the cast as well, too, and I cannot wait to dig in to those scripts because I need to know how my boo is coming back.”

Feldman’s larger role in the upcoming season of Ghosts will bring a much-needed shake-up to the show’s equilibrium. After five seasons, the supernatural series has hit a pretty predictable groove. In nearly every episode, the ghosts will pull Samantha, and by association Jay, into an awkward situation that they have to work their way out of. But more than that, Feldman will be the first series regular to be added throughout the show’s history and that will inevitably change the dynamics of the show. While Ghosts doesn’t return full-time until midseason, CBS will air the two-episode Halloween special on October 29 and the two-episode “Ghostmas” episode on December 10.

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  Rose McIver

  Samantha Arondekar

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  Utkarsh Ambudkar

  Jay Arondekar