“Ghosts” Hair and Makeup Heads on Keeping the Beloved Show’s Spirits Looking Timeless

A New York couple inherits a rural estate, but there’s a catch—not only is the house falling apart, but it’s also home to a passel of ghosts, both spiritually and emotionally bound to the property. A bad fall down Woodstone Manor’s staircase gives wife Sam (Rose McIver) the ability to see and hear the motley band of spirits living in her new home, and in turn, she, her husband, Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), and the upstairs ghosts wind up making the best of their unusual household. Adapted by showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman from the British series of the same name, Ghosts has been a hit for CBS, with the show well into its fifth season and renewed for a sixth.

Whether they’re stuck on the property for eternity or merely passing through on the way to another spiritual realm, the through line for all of Ghosts’ ghosts is that they died where Woodstone Manor now stands. Thor (Devan Chandler Long), a Viking who came to explore present-day North America and was left behind by his shipmates a millennium ago, is the oldest of the core group stuck on the property. The newest is Trevor (Asher Grodman), a stockbroker who died from a drug-induced heart attack. Between the two, there’s a Lenape storyteller, a Continental Army officer, a Jazz Age lounge singer, a hippie, and Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky), Sam’s 19th-century ancestor and the first owner of Woodstone.

While other people die at Woodstone, turn into ghosts, and move on, and living visitors come and go as Jay and Sam try to transform the estate into a B&B and restaurant, the show’s core ghosts remain the same—and it’s imperative that they stay consistent from season to season. But the series pilot was shot in Los Angeles, which meant the show’s Canada-based crew (production for the series is set in and around Montreal) inherited the main characters’ general appearance. Makeup department head Gillian Chandler (Midway, John Wick: Chapter 2) and hair department head Jean Scarabin (The Bold Type, Clouds) were able to subtly update the show’s recurrent spirits as well as work with costume designer Carmen Alie to develop looks for the ghosts during flashback scenes to their days among the living.

We got to speak with Chandler and Scarabin about keeping the show’s ghosts not only consistent but also major-network-friendly, researching, working around period looks, and adjusting their processes for the Canadian winter.

With the pilot shot in Los Angeles, were you able to make many changes to the primary ghosts’ hair and makeup when production moved to Canada?

Gillian Chandler: When it came to Montreal, we made it much better. I created a much stronger look for Rebecca [Hetty]. I did the same for Flower [played by Sheila Carrasco]. She got a really nice hippie look. In the pilot, it wasn’t there. I kept her scar, which was there. Isaac [Brandon Scott Jones] has a lot of makeup on, which he didn’t have on in the pilot. All the characters, I thought, should have a specific look. I was quite strict about that from the beginning.

Jean Scarabin: Over time, we made some slight adjustments to make it look better and to make it easier on the actors, because it’s such a long run. It can’t take an hour and a half every morning. I have an amazing team that helps me a lot. We have between four and five hairdressers every day.

With the ghosts’ looks set, how do you then ensure they stay consistent from season to season?

JS: We use a lot of wigs. And one month before the season starts every year, I remind the actors, ” Don’t cut your hair, please, because I need some length. What we do is color the hair, because actors are aging as well, so there’s some gray coming out. It’s like a big machine that works well. We have schedules for colors and haircuts, and we cut hair every week. Wigs help a lot, of course.

GC: I have to be quite careful about that, but I have a very good team. As for maintaining the makeup, it’s always been a very strict look from the beginning. Each ghost has a specific bag with their makeup in it. Each ghost has their own recipe, and that’s the way I try and keep it. I think it works. Between the hair and the costume, it’s amazing how it all comes alive.

Jean, is there anyone not wearing a wig who’d surprise us?

JS: It’s Hetty. What you see on screen is her hair. What’s inside is different. But basically, her hair covers a structure we build every day. It’s a surprise to see how it’s done because it’s not a wig. It’s very big, it’s called a Gibson hairstyle—it’s a 40-minute process every day.

What are some challenges in terms of making sure the ghosts subtly look like ghosts?

GC: The thing that’s hard to control is that they can’t sweat, so when we shoot in the summertime, we have to be super careful that we don’t see any shine or sweat. Secondly, when we shoot exteriors, and it gets colder, we can’t see their breath, because they’re dead. I have to give them ice chips every time before they speak, otherwise we’d see steam coming out of their mouth. I’m careful about them crying, too. There have been some episodes where they want them to cry—I let them well up, and then it goes back down again.

How do you make new characters fit in with the original group?

JS: If it’s a period character, we discuss the hairstyles from that time, and sometimes we adjust or cheat a little bit. The problem with period hair is that it sometimes makes people look very old, so we have to tweak it a bit to make it more modern and fit with the rest of the cast. Usually, I meet the actors two to three days before they shoot, so that’s challenging for me, because what if a wig doesn’t fit, what if the style doesn’t work on them? We have meetings with showrunners, costume designers, makeup artists—Gillian—and we make it happen all together. We’re really proud of how it looks.

GC: A little trick I did was for all the men who come from the Woodstone mansion, I always give them a mustache.  I think that’s my personal secret nobody’s really noticed. But Hetty’s son and the cousins always have red mustaches. Because Hetty is so red, I continue that through the line of the Woodstones.

Is there an aspect of the ghosts that’s a departure from what we think of as typical ghost media tropes?

GC: Because children do watch the show, I don’t want it to look graphic and gory. Jessica [Nichole Sakura], who died in a car accident, had on her forehead a cut, blood, and I stuck a big piece of glass there, but it’s comedy, so you’re not scared of it. Stephanie [Odessa A’zion], the prom girl who got killed with a chainsaw, I made her gash over the top. I try to make it look more comedic than serious because I know the audience is diverse in age.

How is shooting in Canada?

JS: When we reach winter, it gets difficult, especially for the actors, since some of them have a very light wardrobe. They built a set inside the studio for the front of house, so we can at least do some exterior shots there. For the hair, it’s difficult because the actors have to walk from their trailer to the inside. Production built dressing rooms inside the studio, and our trailers are placed there as well, so actors don’t have to go out. But we’re used to it.

Do you work with local crew?

GC: It’s almost the same crew for five years, which is pretty amazing. We’re like family. There’s a very nice feeling of camaraderie on [set]. We put it together almost without trying, because we’ve been together for so long. It’s like a recipe. It just happens, and it’s kind of magical.

JS: All I can mention is that we have an incredible cast. They’re super nice. I’ve never worked with a team that was so easy to work with, so fun, so creative. Some of the actors are very involved in their hairstyles. Rebecca, who plays Hetty, we really have a collaboration every morning. It’s interesting because we do period stuff, and it’s so fun to see the actors transforming every day into their characters. I won’t say it’s easy, because sometimes it’s challenging, because we don’t have much time to prepare everything, but it’s really the most fun show ever. Rose McIver, who plays Sam, is the best. As soon as we started shooting, she set the tone for everyone on set.

Ghosts is streaming on Paramount+. Season 5, episode 11 will air on February 26 on CBS.

Featured image: Pictured L to R: Richie Moriarty as Pete, Brandon Scott Jones as Isaac, Rose McIver as Samantha, Utkarsh Ambudkar as Jay, Devan Chandler Long as Thorfinn, Rebecca Wisocky as Hetty. Photo: Bertrand Calmeau/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.