Utkarsh Ambudkar Talks Directing in ‘Ghosts’ Season 5 and Why Jay Nearly Losing His Soul Isn’t Making Him Reevaluate His Life: “Sorry To Disappoint You, Jay’s Not One For Learning From His Mistakes”

A brush with death and nearly losing a soul to the devil might be enough to make some people change course on their life, but for Jay in Ghosts, don’t get your hopes up.

**Spoiler alert for the Season 5 premiere of Ghosts**

Sitting down with DECIDER to chat about the newly debuted season of the CBS comedy, Utkarsh Ambudkar opened up about how Jay’s Season 4 cliffhanger ending involving Elias Woodstone (Matt Walsh) may or may not have had an impact on him as a person. News flash: after Carol (Caroline Aaron) sacrificed herself to save Jay, it’s unlikely that anything is going to change.

“Not at all. Sorry to disappoint you, Jay’s not one for learning from his mistakes. That’s not how good comedy is made,” the actor said of whether or not Jay is going to be implementing changes after his close call.”I think we have a lot of other really fun storylines, and at the center of it is this idea that this couple is constantly learning and evolving, and I don’t think they have enough time to reflect or look back in any kind of real way.”

Additionally, the actor — who is set to make his directorial debut in the fifth season of the show — said that he thinks the reluctance to use the past to inform their decisions and choices for the future is part of what makes Jay and Sam (Rose McIver) one of TV’s best couples at the moment.

He added, “They are just scrambling to get to the next day like most of us are. That’s what makes them special and so lovable.”

As for embarking on his journey as a director, the Pitch Perfect alum said he’s hoping to follow in McIver’s footsteps by tapping into his strengths and cultivating an environment for the cast and crew to be funny and creative, all while also moving things along and getting the job done.

“Hopefully, it will be collaborative, joyful, and efficient. I think I know, at this point, what the show Ghosts wants to be, what it should be, and what it shouldn’t be,” he said. “I also trust my cast mates 100 percent intrinsically, so it’ll be managing time in a way where nobody feels pressure and we can just freely enjoy our day.“

Keep reading for DECIDER’s full interview with Ambudkar.

Let’s get into Ghosts because there’s so much to talk about. When we left off with Season 4, we knew that Jay’s soul, his life, was in the balance. How is Jay feeling?

Last we saw Jay, he was narrowly avoiding death by chandelier. So when season five starts, the man is on a ticking clock. And he is. And Sam, they’re terrified. He’s really scared. He is protecting himself the best way he knows how. He’s covered himself in every kind of sports padding imaginable, and he’s really looking for ways to defeat Elias. And more importantly, if Elias should win, what kind of existence is he going to enjoy in the afterlife? So he’s desperate when we meet him.

What’s the best part, in your opinion, about getting to play a damsel in distress?

I mean, look, to play manic fear is always fun, and J rarely gets to be at the center of it, right? He’s [Jay] usually kind of like, “What is happening?” right? That’s kind of Jay’s general energy. But this is like, I don’t know what to do. Should I go in the ghost trap? What kind of food should I bring with me if I’m going to be dead? I’m putting cookies in my pocket because I need a cookie for the rest of my life — my afterlife. It’s fun to be sort of at the center of the hurricane and for the other ghosts to all be scrambling and Sam to try and fix the situation.

I love that Jay is grabbing cookies and putting a lounge chair in the ghost trap. If it were you, how would you be preparing for this?

Not what Jay is doing. If I knew it was ending, I would probably do what most people would do. I would write letters or leave notes for my loved ones. I would tell them the things that I would hope that they would know for the rest of their lives. And I would try to — based on my physical ability — do some things I always wanted to do. I think I’m pretty much I’m good in that regard.

Well, we know how it ends: Carol sacrifices herself and gets sucked off.

She does, it happens.

If he were in a different position, do you think Jay would sacrifice himself for anyone in the room?

Maybe. I’ll give it a soft maybe with a probable no. I don’t know that Jay would because I think he’d be like, “You’re dead, you’re a ghost. I don’t want you to go to hell, but you’re trading a living for a ghost.” Now we’re getting into real complicated territory. And that may have been a controversial statement. I don’t know.

Given that Jay is now saved, do you think it’s reshaped the way he is looking at life at all? Is there anything he might now be dying to try or get to do?

Not at all. Sorry to disappoint you, Jay’s not one for learning from his mistakes. That’s not how good comedy is made. I think we have a lot of other really fun storylines, and at the center of it is this idea that this couple is constantly learning and evolving, and I don’t think they have enough time to reflect or look back in any kind of real way. They are just scrambling to get to the next day like most of us are. That’s what makes them special and so lovable.

We have to talk about a little headline I saw the other day, someone is going to be making a directorial debut. Can you tell me a little about how that came about?

I talked to the Joes about it, I think maybe last season and I shadowed some directors. I did my research, then I took a course with the DGA. Thank you, DGA, for your course. Freakin incredible. And then the Joes were like, “Yeah, you’re going to direct an episode, we’re giving you one this season.” And I have been prepping and talking to every director that comes in. I got a chance to watch Rose just thrive and shine in her role as director, which gave me a lot of confidence — Rose played to her strengths. I think that if I do the same for how I approach it, I’ll be okay too, you know? But watching Rose do it first was really helpful.

What part are you most excited for? Or what are you most nervous for?

Hopefully, it will be collaborative, joyful, and efficient. I think I know, at this point, what the show Ghosts wants to be, what it should be, and what it shouldn’t be. It’s all about pace — it’s about hitting the joke, finding the right camera angle, the sizes, it’s all technical stuff. But I think I understand the technical stuff really well. I also trust my cast mates 100 percent intrinsically, so it’ll be managing time in a way where nobody feels pressure and we can just freely enjoy our day.

I think just sitting with Michelle, our DP and Matt, our first AD, and walking through all the sets and getting to work with Sophie, our designer, and our costume designer… just to be able to sit with them and be like, “What are you thinking?” And just to see their minds explode with ideas. Our crew and our creative team is so, so well versed in this world. I’m excited for that. And the acting stuff, obviously, I want people to laugh. I want to be able to pitch a few new jokes. I want to be able to make the actors feel empowered and allow them all to just do what they do best.

Well, I can’t let you go before I ask about the Halloween and Christmas episodes, because everybody really looks forward to those ones. I know that the previously mentioned mummy is going to make some kind of appearance in some way, shape or form. What else can you say about what is ahead with these episodes?

I can only assume a possession is in our future. I’m going to guess that that mummy plays a huge role and may even make an appearance in some way, shape, or form. I’m going to guess that we’ll probably meet one or two new ghosts that we haven’t seen, who are incredibly funny and from different periods of time that we haven’t experienced yet. And as far as Christmas is concerned, I’ll just say that there are a lot of iconic Christmas films, and some of their plots, themes, and storylines may make it into the Ghosts world as well. And some of our characters, maybe even our main characters, will be shown. I can’t say anymore without giving it away. Sorry, I can’t. I just realized I’m going down a road that is… Nope. Can’t do it. The road just stopped. Apologies — Christmas is going to be really special.

The first episode of Ghosts Season 5 is now streaming on Paramount+.

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