A  fresh concept, refined through the backing of an established Canadian studio, helped actor-writer-producers Luke Hutchie and Matthew Finlan launch their latest project on CBC Gem.

Ghosting with Luke Hutchie and Matthew Finlan is a new unscripted paranormal series that follows the actors and select celebrity guests as they explore haunted landmarks across Ontario in a comedic ghost hunting show.

Produced with Blue Ant Studios (Canada’s Drag Race), the 8 x 30-minute series premieres Friday (Jan. 26) on CBC Gem, with back-to-back weekly episodes to air on CBC TV in late April.

“I think part of the selling point for this show is that we are used to horror in a scripted environment,” Finlan tells Playback Daily, pointing to OUTtv’s short-form vampire series Ezra, which was created and produced by Hutchie.

Hutchie and Finlan originally pitched Ghosting to CBC in the summer of 2022 as a concept that “showcases the country, but in a very different way than has been done,” says Hutchie.

After an initial development period with CBC, the duo looked for a producing partner to elevate the series, and found it in Blue Ant Studios.

“I immediately saw their talent, saw their passion for the project, and I thought it was a really unique spin on the paranormal genre,” says Jennifer Harkness, SVP of unscripted content at Blue Ant, adding that working on the series “put new talent on our radar.”

The studio came on board in January 2023 to help further develop the format, with Hutchie and Finlan also filming a proof of concept to strengthen the initial pitch. After CBC gave them the greenlight in March 2023, production hit the ground running that summer.

“Our first step was to bring on an experienced showrunner to work with Matthew and Luke. So [we brought on] Maureen Riley and she immediately got the show and really clicked with Matthew and Luke, which was important to us,” says Harkness.

Riley is a two-time Canadian Screen Award winner and a producer behind shows such as Still Standing, I Have Nothing, and Big Brother Canada.

“We wanted them to be comfortable with whoever was showrunning,” says Harkness. “She played a really important role in guiding the process through the first day: keeping us on schedule, communicating our executive input and feedback, while also ensuring that Matt and Luke’s vision was realized.”

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Hutchie and Finlan could enlist the help of their famous friends, creating a built-in audience. The guest stars include Canadian talent Katie Douglas (Ginny & Georgia, Level 16), Devyn Nekoda (Scream VI), Kevin Alves (Yellowjackets, Locke & Key), Bukola Ayoka (Robyn Hood), Frankie Grande (Big Brother), Jade Hassouné (Shadowhunters), Zoe De Grand Maison (Riverdale, Orphan Black), Synthia Kiss (Canada’s Drag Race) and Hale Grande.

“[We], along with our friends who also work in the horror genre, are stepping off of the script and into our own thriller to see if the people who make the horror can endure it themselves in real life,” says Finlan.

In Ghosting, each of the stars is paired with a “haunted” locale that makes a nod to their on-screen characters, with locally-famed spots such as Baden, Ont.’s Castle Kilbride and one of Canada’s oldest and creepiest correctional facilities, the SDG Jail.

For example, Kevin Alves from Yellowjackets — in which he portrays a teen stuck in a cabin in the remote wilderness — goes to a cabin in the woods; Devyn Nekoda, who (spoiler alert) falls to her death in Scream VI, visits a home where the ghost rumoured to haunt the spot also fell to their untimely death.

Whether or not the show will have you believing in the paranormal by season’s end is up for debate, but the belief in the show’s ability to kick off is uncontested among its producers.

“CBC believed in the show. They believed in me and Matthew, they believed in the vision, and they wanted it to be bigger and they wanted to provide every asset they had to support us,” says Hutchie.

Next up, Blue Ant International, which holds global licensing rights, will be bringing Ghosting to the London TV Screenings in February, where Hutchie says they’ll be able to showcase “what Canada can do… and celebrate what we bring to the table.”

Image courtesy of CBC