If you like Nick Frost and Simon Pegg projects then you're going to watch this regardless and you don't really need me to convince you to check it out. However, with the flood of streaming media and the nightmare that has been 2020 then you might have overlooked this back in October just as I did. If that's the case and you can use something to cheer you up then I heartily recommend this supernatural mystery thriller comedy.
The series follows two main threads that slowly start to connect, the first focusing a young girl named Astrid (Emma D'Arcy) who wakes up in an abandoned hospital and is chased by spirits. The second thread follows broadband installer Gus Roberts (Nick Frost), an amateur ghost hunter, and his new partner Elton John (Samson Kayo) as they begin to encounter paranormal events while working for Smyle Internet.
Elton's past is shrouded in mystery, and it seems that he's a bit of a magnetic for supernatural phenomena. The series starts to pull all of these character threads together, combining them with various flashbacks that start to form the background mythology of this world and how hauntings work within it.
The story is driven by richly developed characters, from our main trio to Gus' lonely and belligerent father Richard (Malcolm McDowell) and to Elton's agoraphobic and anxious sister Helen (Susie Wokoma). Every actor is pitch perfect for their roles and you're immediately drawn into their stories, and you really start to appreciate this odd Scooby Gang as they slowly start to form a family. And by the way, the friendship developed by Richard and Helen is a high point and incredibly sweet.
I love them so much.
Tonally the show is a bit interesting because it does lean into its horror elements and is not as quirky as the usual Pegg/Frost collaboration. The comedy is a bit more subdued in general and more character based, although it can flip into some pretty ridiculous and great moments.
Each episode is a trim half hour or so, and they make the most of each installment to move the plot and character arcs along. That makes each episode very satisfying and leaves you wanting more, so it's very easy to binge the entire season quickly as there are only eight episodes. They leave things with a couple open notes which hopefully means we get a second season eventually, but so far there hasn't been any word. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
