
	Love and Ratings Won't Die Easily for 'Ghost Whisperer'

Release Date:

November 17, 2008

Press Release:

BuddyTV

NUMBER ONE, NUMBER ONE, NUMBER ONE, ETC, ETC, ETC, YADAH,YADAH!.....

by Maria Gonzalez
BuddyTV Staff Columnist

For many of those who were devastated by the death (and plot twist) of Jim Clancy on Ghost Whisperer, remember that it simply means that a new beginning is upon us. Several interviews with the executives of the series have revealed that some drastic changes could mean a better run for the show, as evidenced by the viewership it received on the latest episodes.

“What we want the audience to remember is that we're doing these things because you want to make the show resemble life in the sense that life gives you lemons, and, if you're a heroic character like Melinda, you make lemonade,” said executive producer P.K. Simonds. Ghost Whisperer definitely stirred up its own batch of lemonade just last Friday, when it saw 11.67 million total viewers for the big twist.

Executive producers Kim Moses and Ian Sander also had their say on the situation. “When we started the series four years ago, the pilot opened up on Jim and Melinda's wedding. In the four year journey what we've found is that audiences really love their relationship and because we have two immensely popular actors Jennifer Love Hewitt and David Conrad who have amazing chemistry onscreen,” said Moses. “[T]he turning point for the season and for their relationship where we're going to reboot Jim and Melinda's love story so that the audience can experience them falling in love from the very beginning.”

The question now is: will the risk pay off? The 11.67 million viewers might return out of curiosity on the next episode, “Heart and Soul,” but it's not certain if they'll stick around for the new romance. “It gets more complicated, but does not change,” said Simonds. “A lot more complicated. We love Jim, and obviously Melinda loves him. We feel like there are fairy-tale elements to this show, and that relationship is one of them. They are people who are destined to be together, no matter what. But we thought, this season, what if we took the 'no matter what' to another level?”

“[Y[ou have to try something bold and chancy and take those kinds of chances to do something great and this is our way of doing that,” added Sander. He says it's the mystery within Ghost Whisperer that keeps fans coming back for more.

“All I can say to [the audience] is you must turn the page and see where this mystery is going if you want to be satisfied and all that we saw at the end of last week's episode was a page in the mystery. We now encourage you to turn the page and we promise you you'll both be surprised and satisfied with what's on the next page and the mystery will be fulfilled. Then, of course, we will continue to be mysterious as we go forward otherwise why would you turn the page for the next episode? So we hope that this will just be the beginning to kick off what we call our mythology for season four.”