Spoilers for parts one and two of the Ghosts holiday episodes, “It's a Wonderful Christmas Carol,” are ahead! You’ll be able to stream them with a Paramount+ subscription the day after they air on CBS.
It’s tradition on Ghosts to end the year with a possession. On the 2025 TV schedule, it continued too, as Flower ended up taking over Sam’s body as a gift from Thor. That meant Rose McIver had to impersonate Sheila Carrasco this year. So, when I spoke to Devan Chandler Long, who plays Thor, about these episodes, I asked what the Sam actress does in preparation to possess a new spirit each year.
Now, the first time Ghosts had a possession episode, McIver actually impersonated Devan Chandler Long’s viking, Thor. Then, in Season 4, Nancy, the basement ghost, took over Sam’s body while Pete ended up in Jay’s. This time around, Flower got to go for a spin with the human thanks to Thor. So, I asked Long how his co-star prepares for episodes like this, since he’s been through it with her. In response, he said:
She really dives in. I mean, she doesn't just like do a little research on her own and call it a day. You know, she sits down with the actor she's possessing. When I did it, I was certainly sending her the way I would say this and that, and give her lines, and then she would send things back and forth. And it's just kind of a collaborative experience.
While I’ve hoped other characters would get possessed, McIver really has done a knock-out job every time, and I want to see her impersonate every member of the cast. I also love how into it she gets by chatting with the other actors and going through lines with them.
She really does kill it every time, and so does her co-star and TV husband, Utkarsh Ambudkar. Speaking to just how talented both these actors are, Long said:
She really wants to make it as real and authentic as possible. And she always nails it. Rose is so good. And then you put on top of that, you're like, ‘Oh, this lady's from New Zealand. This isn't even her [accent]. Like, what's going on here?’ So it's just very impressive all around with Rose, and then Utkarsh too.
Seriously, I’ll never get over how good Rose McIver is at this! Her impression of Nancy lives in my head rent-free. Now, her Flower impersonation will stay there too. To that point, Devan Chandler Long pointed out just how different each impersonation is, and how that changes how the Sam actress performs these possessions. Ultimately, though, she delivers an astounding and new possession every time, as Long explained with an apt metaphor:
It's hard to say, because every time she possesses someone different, it's like a whole different menu item altogether. It's like, ‘Well, what's the lasagna like compared to like, you know, the steak tartare?’ Like, what? Well, they're both really good. But, you know, I have no idea how the cook made either one of them. And Rose, being the cook, she takes the ingredients, she finds them, she sources them, and she whips it up, and it tastes really good. It's a seasonal menu, though, so we only get to have that one dish once a year on Christmas.
Truly, these possession episodes have turned into one of my favorite holiday traditions, and hopefully, when Ghosts returns for Season 6, we’ll get another one. Along with all the questions I have about Ghosts, each season I also theorize about who will possess Sam (or Jay), because I genuinely can’t wait to see how McIver (or Ambudkar) impersonates them.
She, as Devan Chandler Long said, “nails it” every time, leaves me laughing really hard, and hoping that we’ll get to see another ghost possess her next season. However, before that happens, make sure to tune in for the rest of Ghosts' fifth season when it returns to CBS in 2026.
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