Katherine Freeling, along with her children Ben and Esther, move into the Undervale Hotel in Upstate New York, which was owned by her deceased brother Nathan. However, it is soon revealed that the place is haunted by the quirky restless spirits of the previous residents, including Nathan, who offers to help Katherine make the hotel's business successful. They later meet an immortal demon named Abaddon, who is trapped in the body of a young boy from the 1700s and offers to help the family fend off evil demons, murderers and other entities who come to the Undervale.
Voice cast
Main
Will Forte as Nathan Freeling,[4] Katherine's older brother who is a ghost, having died almost a year prior under circumstances he doesn't remember. He is a friendly and optimistic, albeit irresponsible person who tries to help out his sister around the hotel, whether it’s trying to get guests to stay, how to end curses, or fighting off evil spirits.
Eliza Coupe as Katherine Freeling,[4] a recent divorcée and the reluctant owner of the haunted Undervale Hotel in upstate New York and Nathan's younger sister. Business-minded and sensible, her attempts to keep everything running as smoothly as possible often come to a clash with the supernatural elements of the hotel and her family's various quirks, and forgets to make time for herself. She is still dealing with lingering grief and complicated emotions regarding Nathan and the circumstances of his death, refusing to discuss it with him.
Skyler Gisondo as Ben Freeling,[4] Katherine's young teen son and Nathan's nephew, who is socially awkward and tries to maintain some normality with his new life at the Undervale. He tries to be responsible and helpful, but is easily distracted by his creative passions or teenage growing pains. He is revealed to be a conduit for ghosts, much to both his intrigue and horror.
Natalie Palamides as Esther Freeling,[4] Katherine's precocious and mischievous preteen daughter and Nathan's niece, who enjoys using black magic and her new life at the Undervale. She struggles to make friends due to her eccentric behavior, and often butts heads with her mother and brother, but is fiercely loyal to her family. It is also revealed she has made several failed attempts to contact her estranged father, Katherine's ex husband, and has since found a father figure in her uncle Nathan.
Jimmi Simpson as Abaddon,[4] an ancient demon who is trapped in the body of a young boy from the 1700s. Egotistical and vindictive, he proves himself to be just as immature and childish as the vessel he inhabits. He fails to understand most modern-day technology or societal expectations, putting him at odds with Katherine's attempts to run the hotel. Despite his selfish, demonic nature, he ultimately has a soft spot for the Freeling family, especially a close bond with Esther, and will help them when circumstances become dire. He enjoys crawling through the hotel's vents for means of travel.
Recurring
Sunita Mani as Heather,[5] a studious young Indian-American girl who is a classmate and friend to Esther. She shows surprising calmness towards all the supernatural events she walks in on.
Riki Lindhome as Annabelle,[5] an emotionally volatile teenage ghost who died in the 1930s. She resembles a flapper girl and is the girlfriend of Ben. She often is dramatic, and laments having died in clothes she hated.
Duncan Trussell as Stabby Paul,[5] a deranged serial killer ghost who enjoys stabbing people with a kitchen knife despite not being able to physically harm them with it. He is part of a band with other ghosts in the hotel, declaring that music was his passion, and stabbing was merely a hobby.
Maria Bamford as Angela,[5] a pale ghost woman from the Victorian era who was killed after breaking her neck from falling off an apple tree on the hotel grounds.
Matt Roller as Candle Head,[5] a ghost obsessed with candles, and whose body is covered in candle wax.
The ghosts at the Undervale Hotel are scaring away potential guests, much to Katherine's frustration. After failing to convince the ghosts to stay away from the guest rooms, she enlists the aid of an exorcist to remove them permanently. Esther is looking for the necklace of a ghost named Annabelle who died in the 1930s, and whose remains are hidden somewhere in the hotel. She convinces Ben to hook up with Annabelle in the hope that she will reveal the location to him. Ben meets Annabelle, and immediately form a soul bond with her upon touching her hand, the reason for this is that he is a conduit to the netherworld. The exorcist Jezmeralda arrives at the hotel, who immediately starts banishing the ghosts to the netherworld, including Nathan, explaining that the hotel is actually a portal to hell. It is revealed her true motive for banishing the ghosts was to summon the demon Mortoth from hell and unleash him onto the earth. Mortoth immediately turns on Jezmeralda and attacks her. Before he kills her, she tells Katherine that they can stop him by opening a conduit to the netherworld to bring back the ghosts. Since Ben is a conduit, Esther places a bone necklace from her stash of occult items onto Ben, opening the connection to the netherworld. Nathan and the other ghosts return after Katherine promises them free rein of the hotel, they defeat Mortoth and send him back to hell.
2
"Unfinished Business"
Christopher Nance
Matt Roller
September19,2025(2025-09-19)
Katherine becomes concerned when Esther spends time with Phoebe, a ghost who she deems a bad influence. After Esther is initiated into Phoebe's 'gang' of delinquent ghosts, she resolves to rid the hotel of the ghost by completing her unfinished business- the only way to permanently send a ghost to the afterlife. When Esther discovers her mother in the middle of fulfilling Phoebe's desires, she angrily accuses her mother of stopping her from having friends. Guilty, Katherine tries to make peace with Phoebe, who lures her onto the roof of the hotel in revenge. Before Katherine can fall, Esther saves her, then proceeds to expel Phoebe to the afterlife by returning a stolen shawl to her. Katherine and Esther reconcile, and Esther agrees to give friendship with her school peers another chance.
In a subplot, Nathan, Ben, and Abbadon are tasked with restoring electricity to the hotel, the source being an old haunted mill deep in the woods.
In an attempt to impress his peers, Ben invites several classmates from school for a party at the hotel. Unfortunately it is the same night that, anually, the mysterious Pillowcase Killer stalks the grounds, in search of horny couples to kill. When he is spotted, Nathan tries his best to dissuade the serial killer from harming the teens, but cannot physically stop him. Ben helps his classmates flee with the help of Esther and Randy, the ghost of a teenage boy who died encountering the killer (ironically, the killer had stopped chasing him when Randy confessed to being a virgin, and then he proceeded to fall and fatally break his neck). Meanwhile, Katherine anxiously goes on a blind date, expecting it to go badly, but finds herself having a good time with her date, Joel. They return to the hotel together to have sex, immediately becoming the Pillowcase Killer's next targets. In the chaos to rescue the couple from the killer, Esther bursts in on her mother having sex, and is horrified. Seeing his own childhood trauma in Esther, the Pillowcase Killer relinquishes his weapon to her and leaves into the woods. Esther tells Katherine she is forever traumatized, but acquieses to a bedtime story.
Nathan prepares to celebrate the first anniversary of his death like a birthday, while Katherine avoids discussing it with him. Nathan cannot remember his death beyond Katherine having told him he died when he choked on a grape while watching Con Air. Esther accidentally breaks a magic snowglobe, summoning a group of demons, the Spawn of Rabisu. She leads everyone into the fortified parlor room, which is protected by salt circles, and attempts to figure out a plan. Ben attempts to contact the Vatican for help, but is repeatedly left on hold or transferred. Abbadon agrees to find ingredients for anti-possession talismen before the demons can break in, but keeps returning with useless items. Katherine accidentally breaks the salt ring during an argument with Nathan, allowing a demon to enter and possess Esther. The demon begins revealing the family's personal secrets to each other, causing more arguments between Nathan and Katherine, and eventually they are forced to flee into a closet. Inside, Katherine finally reveals to Nathan the tragic truth behind his death: He committed suicide. Shattered, Nathan admonishes Katherine for suggesting his not knowing didn't matter, but before they can resolve the issue, the demon destroys Abbadon's failed talisman, and possesses the whole family, sans Nathan and Abbadon. The demon proceeds to walk the family to the lake to drown them, while Nathan follows, spilling his own secrets to the family, and telling Katherine he loves her, and won't leave her again. Abbadon manages to fix the snowglobe before the family can drown, banishing the demons back to hell, and freeing them from possession. Katherine and Nathan reconcile, with Katherine lamenting that she wished Nathan had called her before he died. The two agree that they have a lot to talk through with each other.
The series premiered on Netflix on September 19, 2025.[2]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 77% based on 13 reviews.[6]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 54 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average".[7]
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