Q&A

GN: Flower has quickly become a fan favorite in Ghosts, with her blend of whimsy, naivety, and heart. What do you feel it is about her character that has struck such a chord with audiences?  

SC: I think people love Flower for her ability to see the best in people, and maybe more so for her ability to forget their transgressions, haha. She's not gonna judge you, and she's a great friend. She's someone that's pretty much always down for hugs, music and chill hangs, what's not to love?!

GN: Her ghostly ability to leave others in a blissful haze feels both comical and symbolic. How do you interpret this trait within the broader context of Flower’s free-spirited nature?  

SC: She's a lover and wants people to feel good, so her power to make people high makes sense to me! Even though her power can sometimes make her an agent of chaos, she always has good intentions with it, so I find it easy to forgive her. 

GN: The show enjoys extraordinary success, drawing nearly twelve million viewers and inspiring adaptations abroad. Why do you believe the premise of Ghosts resonates so universally across cultures? 

SC: I think our show is universally hilarious which helps a lot, but it's also a comfort show which people everywhere really need right now. We need to laugh and be reminded of our humanity and our ability to connect with loved ones more than ever. Ghosts is about finding your chosen family and loving the one you're with. It's about building bridges with people that you completely disagree with and coming together anyway. Maybe this is just me and my own hippie point of view, but I really think love is all we need and our show brings that idea into people's homes.

GN: Flower’s frequent flashbacks offer glimpses into the countercultural world of the 1960s. How do you prepare for those sequences, and what excites you about exploring her past in fragments? 

SC: I think the 60's can seem to us younger generations like it was all groovy and trippy and therefore a bit silly. But it was actually a pretty scary time and a lot of people were lost, disillusioned and angry. It's not too different from how things are becoming here in America 2025 to be honest. Through her flashbacks we find out that Flower has experienced tremendous pain and loss, which drove her to find the cult and lose herself a bit. Over the course of the 60's she gradually transformed from Susan at law school into the Flower that we know today at Woodstone. And every flashback we've seen has been at a different point of that transformation. No other ghost has changed so dramatically in her actual life as Flower did, and yet there is still so much we don't know about her pre-hippie life. So I look at her flashbacks as an opportunity to play with whatever new version of Susan/Flower we get to witness along that journey, and also ground it in the reality of what was happening back then.

GN: You were “discovered” through the CBS Diversity Showcase an initiative that has launched many notable careers. How did that experience shape your journey, and why do you feel programs like this remain so vital today?  

SC: CBS showcase as an actor in 2018 and then head writer in 2019 was an invaluable experience for me. As a performer I got to play a ton of different characters like Adriana Santiago the extreme Michael Jordan fan or Joyce Ortega-Wilson the neighborhood do-gooder, and all of them were Latina without being a stereotype. And that's because I was allowed to write for myself and not be put in any one specific box. As head writer the next year, I could enable our incredible cast and writing staff do that for themselves, and then I go to sit in the room with high level CBS executives to discuss our sketches and get notes, it was nuts. I learned so much, and I think I was able to play Flower and make her my own, thanks to this experience.

GN: Your academic path took you from NYU Tisch to Harvard, and you have worked with esteemed companies such as Steppenwolf, the American Repertory Theatre, and The Groundlings. How has this rigorous training influenced your approach to television comedy?

SC: Theatre is my first love and performing live will always be my favorite thing to do. Sketch comedy may be my favorite medium within that! It's so freeing, while also being quite technical.  I don't think you can learn how to do comedy in a vacuum. You need to perform live for other people to feel the rhythm of comedy and find your voice. Whether it's theatre training, or improv classes, I think getting in front of an audience is the only real way to learn. 

GN: The ensemble nature of Ghosts is one of its greatest strengths. What has been the most rewarding aspect of collaborating with such a dynamic company of actors? 

SC: The best part of it all is how much we laugh. Everyone is so truly funny, delightful and kind. I love the days when all 10 of us are in a scene together, we have the best time. It's like the first day of the pilot, we all get giddy and I hug them a lot. They like it. I hope they do.

GN: Looking ahead, with Ghosts already renewed for a sixth season, what are you most eager to discover in Flower’s journey, and more broadly, what kinds of stories or roles inspire you at this stage of your career? And What does GOODNIGHT mean to you?  

SC: I can't wait to uncover more about her past with her family, her law school aspirations and more about her wild hippie days, and in doing so perhaps unlock some potential for her afterlife– can she grow as a person and start remembering things eventually? Wouldn't that be something!

Goodnight is usually the last thing I say to my baby when I close her door at bedtime, and the last thing I say to my husband as I squeeze his hand before we fall asleep, so it's a pretty sweet feeling! Life is good right now and I'm so grateful for these kinds of moments. 

Images courtesy of photographer: Emily Sandifer

Styling: Annie Easton / Makeup: Dillon Peña / Hair: Courtney Housner