The Ghostbusters are officially pulling an all-nighter.
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| 'Ghostbusters: Night Shift' animated series will answer your call / Netflix/Sony Pictures Animation |
Ghostbusters: Night Shift, a series from Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation based on the beloved Ghostbusters franchise, will debut exclusively on Netflix in 2027. The new series marks the next chapter in the franchise’s ghoul-catching legacy, bringing supernatural comedy and paranormal action back to animation.
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| Netflix/Sony Pictures Animation |
The scene: New York City, 1994. Five years after the Ghostbusters took the Statue of Liberty for a walk, a new wave of supernatural terror hits the Big Apple, forcing a group of scrappy, young New Yorkers — untrained, underappreciated, and kinda sorta responsible for the problem — to put on proton packs, face their fears, and bust some ghosts.
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| Netflix/Sony Pictures Animation |
The series will be executive produced by Ben Hibon, Elliott Kalan, Jason Reitman, Gil Kenan, Amie Karp, and Dan Aykroyd. Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman, director of the original Ghostbusters features, and his longtime collaborator, Kenan co-wrote the franchise’s most recent installments, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
Before taking the lead on the franchise his father helped create, the younger Reitman garnered multiple Oscar nominations for the films Juno and Up in the Air. Kenan is also an Oscar nominee for his animated frightfest Monster House.
This isn’t the first time the Ghostbusters universe has gone animated. The 1980s and ’90s saw The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters take over the small screen. For now, you can rest assured: If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, a Ghostbuster will be on the job — even if it’s after hours.
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| The team behind Ghostbusters: Afterlife is bringing us more paranormal laughs | Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan | Photo by Bart van der Putten |
Ghostbusters: Night Shift will clock in sometime in 2027.
Reitman and Kenan both took to the stage at Netflix’s Annecy presentation to talk about the genesis and aims of the project, followed by showrunners and EPs Ben Hibon and Elliott Kalan who revealed fresh details on the project.
Reitman previously honored his father’s legacy, in collaboration with Kenan, with the 2021 comedy Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire which followed in the wake of a string of award-winning directorial credits including Thank You For Not Smoking and Juno.
“This is my first time here in Annecy. Thank you for having me,” said Reitman. “Back in 1984, my father directed the original Ghostbusters film, introducing the world to an entirely new kind of comedy. A science fiction film that was as scary as it was hilarious.”
The new series sees the original Ghostbusting team led by Peter Venkman, Raymond Stantz and Egon Spengler in retirement, and a younger new crew taking up their mission against the backdrop of early 1990s New York, as the city is on the cusp of gentrification.
Reitman said the setting was filling in “the big gap” between the original 1984 Ghostbusters and 1989 sequel Ghostbusters II and his more recent sequels.
“There’s an entire decade’s worth of ghostbusting that has never been told until now and we’re taking you back to the 1990s… look in your closet and fish out that CD Sony Walkman,” he said.
Giving more detail on the setting, showrunner Kalan and Hibon said New York was a presented as “a beautiful mess” and talked through concept art tapping into the many facets of the city.
“It was extremely important to us that the setting of Ghostbusters: Night Shift feel like the actual New York City. We want you to feel the wet garbage under your feet as you watch the show,” said Kalan.
“In order to do that visually, we tapped into the more grimy, DIY punk and layered street aesthetic of the time,” said Hibon, adding the aim for a naturalistic look with a few design elements.
“None of these stylistic choices have been made just because they look cool… It’s also to reflect the perspective of our new cast of Ghostbusters. Young adults trying to figure out how to live in the city that represents their biggest dreams as well as their biggest nightmares,” added Kalan.
“We will be experiencing their street level view of a New York of 24-hour diners and corner store bodegas. To put it bluntly, this is a New York that smells.”
In a key reveal, they also unveiled the new generation of Ghostbusters: Belladonna the goth; Mitzi the punk; Zoe the kid, and Mitzi’s younger sister; Travis the conman; Mike the scientist and Terror Puppy.
They also treated the audience to a short clip set in Grand Central Station and the Night Watcher (pictured in the image above), a terrifying phantom ticket collector who nearly finishes off Zoe and Travis off.
The reveal follows the unveiling of the official title and logo at a Ghostbusters Day tribute event at the iconic Hook & Ladder 8 firehouse, used as the exterior of the Ghostbusters firehouse, in New York City earlier this month.
As announced last month, Dan Aykroyd, star and writer of the original 1984 film, is also on board as an executive producer alongside Amie Karp. The series is a Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation production.
Also further confirmed at Annecy was that Ghostbusters: Night Shift is being developed as a fully canon chapter in the franchise timeline, filling a previously unexplored gap between Ghostbusters II, Afterlife, and Frozen Empire. That distinction makes the project particularly noteworthy, as previous animated efforts such as The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters existed outside the films’ official continuity.
The creative team also offered a closer look at the show’s central cast, with the first character details shared. While each team member was given a simple one-word description during the presentation, showrunners Ben Hibon and Elliott Kalan stressed that the characters have layered personalities that directly influenced their visual designs. Zoe was described as an “adorable kid” with a wise-cracking attitude, while Travis is a charismatic petty criminal who is equal parts cool and loser. Mike serves as the team’s engineering genius, combining scientific brilliance with emotional warmth, while Mitzi is a fearless riot girl whose tough exterior is balanced by her protective relationship with her younger sister, Zephyr. It was also confirmed that actor Jack Quaid voices Travis.
Additional details revealed during the presentation shed more light on the equipment and technology visible in today’s first-look images. The young team reportedly weilds kit-bashed gear and operates out of a beat-up van, dubbed the Ecto-94, resulting in proton packs, traps, and equipment that are functional but carry some homemade charm. Among the highlights is a DIY PKE Meter made from PlayStation 1 parts, while looking back at the released artwork, multiple pack variants can already be spotted, each with its own unique modifications and design quirks, lending further credibility to executive producer Amie Karp’s earlier promise that the series would provide “lots of opportunities for cosplay.”
One detail that immediately caught fans’ attention in the concept artwork was the presence of a dog accompanying the team through the streets of New York. At first glance, the animal appeared to be an ordinary canine companion. However, the Annecy presentation confirmed that the creature is actually a “terror-puppy,” with Kalan adding, “When he pees on things, they burst into flame.”
Also revealed during the Annecy presentation was exclusive footage screened for attendees. The sequence reportedly followed Travis as he tracked down an entranced Zoe inside Grand Central Terminal, where the pair came under attack from a demonic Ticket-Taker ghost acting on behalf of a mysterious entity known as the Nightwalker. Reports from those in attendance described the footage as surprisingly intense, featuring possession, spectral trains racing through the station, and a towering supernatural presence.
The presentation also highlighted several of the series’ supernatural threats, including a Poison Demon, the sludge-like Rot Monster, and a Reflector Ghost known as Grabby Hands. Despite the heightened horror elements, the creative team stressed their desire to recapture the same blend of comedy and genuine scares that helped make the original Ghostbusters so memorable.
The production team described Night Shift as embracing a “tactile visual language,” with animation handled by Flying Bark Productions, the studio behind Nickelodeon's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Glitch Techs, and Netflix's Stranger Things spin-of, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85.
Also featured during the presentation was artwork depicting Ray’s Occult Books. Introduced in Ghostbusters II as Ray Stantz’s bookstore, the location’s inclusion immediately raises questions about how closely the series may connect to familiar faces from the original films. However, it should be noted that no legacy character appearances have been confirmed at this time.
From TheWrap:
Netflix and Sony Animation’s ‘Ghostbusters: Night Shift’ Series Fills in a Pivotal Gap in Ghostbusting History
Annecy 2026: Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan share first footage from the new series, set to hit the streamer in 2027
Who ya gonna call?
Since 1984, when that question was first asked, the answer has always been “Ghostbusters.” The franchise has gone on to encompass five feature films, a beloved Saturday morning cartoon, countless pieces of merchandise and just as many videogames, comic books and novelizations. But since 2024, which saw the theatrical release of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” things have been quiet. Spookily quiet.
That changes very soon.
2027 will see the release of Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Ghostbusters: Night Shift,” a new animated series that fills in the gaps of the “Ghostbusters” timeline and looks to recapture that essential mixture of fun and frights that made the ’84 original so powerful.
On hand at Annecy were executive producers (and keepers of the “Ghostbusters” flame) Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan. Reitman and Kenan co-wrote 2021’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” with Reitman directing “Afterlife” and Kenan handling “Frozen Empire.” (Reitman, of course, is the son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two “Ghostbusters” films.) They produced this new series, alongside showrunners Ben Hibon and Elliott Kalan. Amie Karp and Dan Aykroyd are also executive producers.
The official logline for “Ghostbusters: Night Shift” reads, “New York City, 1994 — Five years after the Ghostbusters took the Statue of Liberty for a walk, a new wave of supernatural terror hits the Big Apple, forcing a group of scrappy, young New Yorkers — untrained, underappreciated and kinda sorta responsible for the problem — to put on proton packs, face their fears and bust some ghosts.”
The team promises that this series, which is set during the original mayor run of former EPA agent (and original “Ghostbusters” villain) Walter Peck, will both be in canon and fill in a pivotal gap in “Ghostbusters” lore between 1989’s “Ghostbusters II” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” Another promise? That it will be just as scary as it is funny. And the footage that they screened proved this to be correct.
“Ghostbusters: Night Shift” follows a group of younger Ghostbusters who, inspired by the original heroes, create similar technology to face supernatural foes. This means that they have all the gear, but it’s slightly wonky and homemade – kit-bashed, let’s say, to borrow a “Star Wars” term. As the team behind “Night Shift” explained, the characters are in an “earlier, messier stage of their lives.” They have a van instead of the iconic ECTO-1. And they have a pet – a terror-puppy. That’s right. It’s a cuter, miniaturized version of the terror dogs from “Ghostbusters.” You will want to adopt one immediately.
As for the “Ghostbusters: Night Shift” sequence that was screened at Annecy, well, it sees some of the Ghostbusters confronting an evil conductor in Grand Central Terminal. It seems like one of the members of the team is possessed by some spirit and another older member (who Netflix and Sony would not publicly name but is very clearly Jack Quaid) is trying to break her from this very real spell. There is a giant ghost creature (a bigger version of the conductor) and ghost trains flying around GCT.
It is somewhat shocking just how intense the footage was. It was actually scary, which was part of the fun of the first “Ghostbusters” film, especially if you were too young to be watching those kinds of movies. It felt like you were getting away with something, which is very cool and very fun.
The team stressed that they wanted “tactile visual language” for the series and leaned on the team from Australian studio Flying Bark, who recently did Netflix’s “Stranger Things: Tales From ’85.” Like that series, the characters in “Ghostbusters: Night Shift” have a slightly sculptural feel, with pushed, extremely readable characterizations. The images, both in the footage and in the artwork that was flipped through, almost has “Arcane” vibes (to throw to another recent hit Netflix animated series). One image was of Ray’s Occult Books, the bookshop owned by Aykroyd’s Ray Stantz, that was introduced in “Ghostbusters II.” Ray’s bookshop? Aykroyd’s involvement as an executive producer? Feel free to draw your own conclusions.
One thing that was stressed during the presentation is that “Ghostbusters: Night Shift” is very much in-canon. This is a departure from the original animated series, “The Real Ghostbusters” (eventually known as “Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters” from Season 3 on), which ran from 1986 and 1991 and was decidedly outside of canon. Still, there are sure to be references and callbacks to that original series, as it has taken a more prominent place in the hearts and minds of “Ghostbusters” fans and was even referenced in “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.”
When “Ghostbusters: Night Shift” debuts in 2027, just be sure to answer the call.
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