Scripted round-up: ‘Ghosts’ to exit BBC; Expectation lands ‘Ted Lasso’ star Ambreen Razia

Ghosts

BBC comedy series Ghosts is to end after its upcoming fifth season.

The show, which has now completed filming on its last season, stars writers and creators Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond, with Lolly Adefope, Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.

It is produced by ITV Studios-owned Monumental Television in association with Them There, with BBC Studios distributing. A US remake aired on CBS last year.

Jon Petrie, director of comedy at the BBC,s aid: “We are officially in mourning for the end of this BBC Comedy classic. We can’t thank the Ghosts team enough for five incredible series (not to mention some perfect Christmas Specials) and we can’t wait for BBC viewers to see the final series. We look forward to working with the team on new projects.”

The show’s fourth season launched in autumn 2022 and was the biggest comedy series of the year in terms of audiences across broadcast TV with 5.7 million viewers tuning in for episode 1 (30 days data).

Expectation lands ‘Ted Lasso’ star Ambreen Razia

Expectation Entertainment has struck a development deal with Ted Lasso star Ambreen Razia for a comedy project exploring addiction and post-partum depression between a South Asian mother and daughter.

Wasted (wt) will follow “the story of a junior doctor and the ancestral legacy which looms over today’s generation of Muslim immigrants.”

Razia added: “The show lifts the lid on the Muslim women that society refuses to acknowledge and uncovers a very personal and specific experience that we have yet to see on screen. The series will contend with existing cultural and religious attitudes alongside the general expectations of womanhood.

“As a British Pakistani girl growing up in London, my experience bears little resemblance to what I’ve seen depicted on British television.”

Razia’s previous writing credits include the Hounslow Diaries for BBC Three, We Are Lady Parts for Channel 4 and Disney+ show Extraordinary.