BBC Buys ‘Ghosts Australia’ To Sit Alongside Original British Sitcom

The BBC has acquired Ghosts Australia, which will sit alongside the British and American versions at the UK pubcaster.

The eight-part series from BBC Studios Australia Productions stars Tamala (Cleverman, Nowhere Boys) and Rowan Witt (Totally Completely Fine, Book Of Mormon) as the couple who inherit a dilapidated country manor home, only to find it inhabited by an eccentric group of ghosts.

Mandy McElhinney (Love Child, House of Hancock), Brent Hill (Hamilton, School of Rock), Ines English (Last Days of the Space Age, The Last Anniversary), Michelle Brasier (Thank God You’re Here, Aunty Donna), George Zhao (The Family Law, Gold Diggers) and Jackson Tozer (Ricky Stanicky, Deadloch) play the apparitions.

The show, which was for Paramount+ in Australia, will play on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three in the UK. BBC Studios’ local division produced the show with investment from Screenwest and the Western Australian Production Attraction Incentive. BBC Studios has distribution rights.

Christiaan Van Vuuren and Madeleine Dyer are the directors, with Josh Mapleston the writer. Libby Butler is script editor and writer, with Shontell Ketchell, Philip Tarl Denson and Steph Tisdell also writing. Bree-Anne Sykes is the producer and Sophia Zachariou exec produced alongside Kylie Washington, EVP and Creative Director at BBC Studios ANZ, and Sophia Mogford, Paramount ANZ Head of Scripted and Comedy.

Ghosts Australia is one of several remakes that have followed the BBC’s original hit sitcom, which is from Monumental Television and stars Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe as the couple. Fox’s American version has also run to multiple seasons, starring the likes of Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar.

“It’s a fresh and very fun spin of the wheel for this beloved BBC format,” said Nick Lee, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition. “Fans will really enjoy the world this new ghoulish gang create.”