Ghosted: Two Losers Battle the Paranormal (Fox)

This blend of action, horror, and comedy surprisingly succeeds at all three. Max Jennings and Leroy Wright are both down on their luck. Formerly the LAPD’s top missing-persons detective, Leroy’s actions got his partner killed, and now Leroy has been reduced to working mall security. Max Jennings was a Stanford Ph.D. whose thesis on other dimensions was the last word on the subject…until Max began claiming his wife had been abducted by a UFO. Max and Leroy are both kidnapped and told they are now working for the “Bureau Underground,” a government agency tasked with investigating and battling all manner of extra-normal threats, whether aliens, vampires, Yetis, or whatever. With the world being overrun with random threats from beyond the stars and beyond the grave, Leroy and Max have their work cut out for them. Inspired by 1980s action-comedies like Lethal Weapon and Midnight Run, and by the 1990s television program The X-Files, Ghosted walks a tightrope combination of action, horror, suspense, and comedy. While there is a lot of humor in the program, there are also some effective moments of shock, as well as several moments with “heart,” showing the budding friendship between Leroy and Max. Horror moments in the first episode included an alien-possessed man removing his own head. Profanity included frequent uses of “bitch” and “ass.” There was no sexual content in the first episode, though this may change. Ghosted is a fast-paced, action-filled comedy with a few genuine shock moments which may be frightening to younger children. Parents should take this and the show’s other content issues into account when planning their children's viewing. Ghosted premieres Sunday, October 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox.