Ghostwriter is a children's mystery television series developed by J.J. Johnson & Andrew Orenstein as an original series for Apple TV+, and premiered on November 1, 2019, coinciding with the launch of the service. It is a revival of the 1992–1995 series of the same name. The third and final season premiered on October 21, 2022.
Contents
Premise
Seasons 1–2
Ruben struggles to fit in at his new middle school after he and his mother move to live with his grandfather, who lives above the bookstore he owns. A ghost known as Ghostwriter communicates with written messages and by creating manifestations of fictional characters, all of which only the four main characters can perceive. As they become friends and learn to work as a team, Ghostwriter sends them characters from stories with themes relevant to their lives.
Season 3
Some time after the previous two seasons, a new ghostwriter picks three children he had met in life to help return a scroll called the Eloquent Peasant back to Egypt where it was first found. As with the previous ghostwriter, he does this through bringing storybook characters to life.
Cast and characters
Main
Isaac Arellanes as Ruben Reyna (seasons 1–2)
Amadi Chapata as Chevon Redmond (seasons 1–2)
Justin Sanchez as Curtis Palmer-Moreno (seasons 1–2)
Hannah Levinson as Donna Palmer-Moreno (seasons 1–2)
Nour Assaf as Samir Yousef (season 3)
Princess Mapp as Nia Joy Barnes (season 3)
Daire McLeod as Charli Allen (season 3)
Josette Halpert as Sydney Allen (season 3)
Romel De Silva as Oliver Ramos (season 3)
Tony Ofori as Malcolm (season 3)
Lisa Berry as Layla Barnes (season 3)
Book characters
Devyn Nekoda as Alice
Neil Patrick Harris as The White Rabbit
Josh Cruddas as The Mad Hatter
Patrice Goodman as The Queen of Hearts
Julian Zane Chowdhury as Mowgli
Aasif Mandvi as Bagheera
Cameron Brodeur as The Camarillo Kid
Andrew Chown as Hitch
Louisa Zhu as Dale Sweet
Kiara Groulx as Raine Watson (from The Disappearance of Emily H.)
Steven Yaffee as Dr. Victor Frankenstein
Stephen R. Hart as The Monster
Ess Hödlmoser as Female Monster
Chloe Ling as Dajie
Jeff Joseph as Frank Clemons
Camilla Arfwedson as Sherlock "Shirl" Holmes
Zoe Doyle as Dr. Joan Watson
Brett Dalton as Captain Vincent (from the Time Castaways series)
Chris Diamantopoulos as Owen Quinn
Kate Drummond as Genevieve Marcus
Steve Valentine as Jimmy Bones
Alain Goulem as Sergeant Belson
Episodes
Production
Development
Apple picked up the revival of the 1992 series Ghostwriter in 2019. The series was written and directed by Luke Matheny, and is executive produced by J.J. Johnson, Andrew Orenstein, and Christin Simms.
Filming
Principal photography and videography of the series commenced in December 2018, and concluded during Summer 2019. Filming took place in Hamilton, Ontario.
Bonus videos
A series of bonus videos called Ghostwriter: Beyond the Page premiered on April 1, 2021.
Reception
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, season one of Ghostwriter has a 100% approval rating, with an average score of 9.5/10 based on 6 reviews.
