Ghosts (2021): parents' guide
Best for ages 13 and up. Rated TV-PG.
A goofy CBS sitcom about a couple who inherit a country mansion full of ghosts that only the wife can see, best for young teens and up. The ghosts come from different centuries, and most jokes spring from culture clashes and bickering. Despite the TV-PG rating, sexual innuendo is constant, including a pantless ghost whose groin is blurred. Ghostly wounds include a bloody neck stump and an arrow through a neck, and a later season reveals one ghost died by suicide. Seasons 4 and 5 add a pot-smoking chef and drug use played for laughs. Age 13 reflects the innuendo, the drug humor and those darker reveals.
What's in it
Violence
ModerateGhostly injuries are visible: a beheaded ghost with a bloody neck stump, another with an arrow through his neck. Deaths by bear, arrow, lightning and poison come up, mostly for laughs. Sam nearly dies after a fall down stairs and spends weeks in a coma.
Language
MildMild: "damn," "hell," "crap," "bastard" and "piss off," with frequent "oh God." No s-words or f-words turned up in the reviews. Plenty of bathroom humor.
Sex and nudity
ModerateConstant innuendo. A ghost who died without pants has his groin blurred and makes suggestive moves. A ghost shows another how to use a washing machine as a sex aid, ghosts joke about orgies and hook up, and sex is implied rather than shown.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongA hippie ghost died high on drugs and still acts stoned; another died of an overdose. In seasons 4 and 5 a chef smokes pot in his car, a ghost gets high off the smoke, another takes drugs while possessing Sam, and cocaine turns up.
Scary or intense scenes
MildThe ghosts are friendly and the tone is silly, though spooky basement ghosts and an uncertain afterlife may confuse young kids. A later season reveals one ghost's suicide, and Sam has an emotional goodbye with her late mother's ghost.
Sensitive topics
- Suicide
- Overdose
- Death of a parent
Worth talking about
The ghosts come from very different eras and often clash over old-fashioned attitudes. What does the show suggest about how people's views can change?
On our lists
Similar picks around 13+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, Wikipedia, tvline.com, looper.com, tvinsider.com, thewrap.com. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.