[1] Ghosts was the first post-watershed comedy by the ensemble, although some television critics said that it was suitable for adults and children alike,[2][3] and it was moved to a pre-watershed slot from series 2 onwards.

Ignoring their solicitor's advice to sell the property, Alison and her husband Mike decide to move in and renovate it, with the idea of turning the house into a luxury hotel.

When she awakens from an induced coma two weeks later, Alison discovers that her husband has arranged a huge mortgage, and that her near-death experience has given her the ability to see and hear the ghosts.

Because the Coopers cannot leave for financial reasons, and the ghosts are bound to the mansion's land until they can ascend into the afterlife (which they refer to as being 'sucked off', unaware that the phrase is a euphemism in modern times), both sides eventually agree that they have to coexist as best they can.

[15] Writing in Broadcast, Jim Howick noted that the 2016 episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, where EastEnders actor Danny Dyer discovered he was related to Edward III of England, formed the basis of the idea of Alison: "We loved the idea of Danny Dyer's royal lineage... We've mirrored this with our character Alison, who discovers her aristocratic roots, which she embraces immediately and takes on with relish.

During the writing process, the intention was to make an adult show, but one that would appeal to older children, along the lines of Blackadder: "We wanted to do something that has a properly creaky atmosphere.

[16] The programme is filmed at West Horsley Place in Surrey, England, a large country house unexpectedly inherited by the writer and former University Challenge presenter Bamber Gascoigne in 2014 from his great aunt, the Duchess of Roxburghe, under circumstances not dissimilar to those depicted in the series.

[28][29][30][31] A special 7-minute-long episode for Comic Relief, broadcast on 17 March 2023, guest starring Kylie Minogue[37] with a cameo appearance from Jason Donovan.

In November 2023, due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike causing a delay in production of the show's American remake, CBS began to broadcast episodes of the British series as Ghosts UK on linear US television.

[42] Stuart Jeffries in The Guardian wrote: "In making us giggle at the supernatural, Ghosts is very British – a mash-up of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), not to mention the manifold sillinesses of Hammer horror films.

"[9] Michael Hogan in The Daily Telegraph was similarly positive, comparing it to the 1970s' children's sitcom Rentaghost but noting that "This deliriously daft supernatural romp, however, was none the worse for that.

"[7] Susannah Butter in the Evening Standard said the first episode reminded her of a property show, watching the couple view a terrible flat, before making their escape to the country.

"[3] Carol Midgley in The Times was also confused by the scheduling, noting that "Ghosts is smut[-] and swearword-free" and calling it "a curiously life-affirming comedy about death".

[2] Contrasting it with the bleak "sadcoms" such as Fleabag and After Life, Pat Stacey in the Irish Independent noted "It's joyously, infectiously silly, yet at the same time whip-smart.

[54][55] Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar play the living couple Samantha and Jay Arondekar, and the ghosts include Brandon Scott Jones, Richie Moriarty, Asher Grodman, Rebecca Wisocky, Sheila Carrasco, Danielle Pinnock, and Román Zaragoza.

[59] The characters will include the prehistoric Tayac (Monsieur Poulpe), Gaul chief Albos (Camille Combal), naive peasant Berthe (Tiphaine Daviot), poet Augustine Montfleury (Paul Scarfoglio), aristocrat Marie Catherine De Merudeaux (Natasha Lindinger), repentant WWII collaborator Francois Laval (Paul Deby), military man George Peyrache (Francois Vincentelli), scout leader Daniel "Dani" Quignon (Bruno Sanches), and drunk pantless politician Roland Givorant (Fred Testot).