Amazon PrimeVideo has released a new show, just in time for Halloween–and it’s perfect for the season. Truth Seekers, starring buddy comedy duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, is all about paranormal investigation with a goofy twist. Clocking in at only eight episodes, it’s a great weekend binge if you’re for a spooky time to distract yourself from the lack of costume parties and trick-or-treat this year.
The set up is relatively simple. Frost plays Gus Roberts, a self-serious and deeply eccentric broadband internet technician who moonlights as a paranormal investigator with a YouTube channel. Roberts is one of the best at his boring day job, so he’s tasked with training up a rookie, Elton John (Samson Kayo)–and yes, the name is the punchline of more than a couple very funny jokes. Elton, as it turns out, is both a coward and a person who is genuinely sensitive to paranormal occurrences, so Gus quickly ropes him into his investigative side-hustle, despite Elton’s protests.
Simon Pegg plays Dave, Gus’s boss, and while Pegg’s reduced role does keep him away from Frost more often than not through most episodes, the two still find time to be charming together. And they’re not the only British comedy juggernauts to be found in the show–Julian Barratt of cult-classic Mighty Boosh fame plays the series’ villain, Dr. Peter Toynbee; BAFTA breakthrough Susie Wokoma plays Elton’s sister Helen, and Malcom McDowell plays Gus’s aging father-in-law Richard.
It’s an incredibly funny combination, especially when you factor in Frost’s chemistry with Kayo who sells the charmingly befuddled and anxiety-ridden Elton at every opportunity. The gags themselves are snappy and more often than not, heartfelt in off-beat ways. Helen suffers from debilitating agoraphobia but runs a make-up YouTube channel and loves to cosplay, if she can actually pull it together long enough to go to a convention. Gus’s eccentricity comes from some deep-seated family trauma that may make him a bit prickly but keeps him genuinely devoted to the few people close to him. It’s all very kind, even when it’s going out of its way to also be absurd and irreverent.
In terms of the supernatural stuff, you likely won’t be kept up at night–it’s clear that Truth Seekers prioritizes the goofs over the ghosts, even though there are definitely ghosts to be found. It’s a bit less graphic than something like Shaun of the Dead. But it’s in that that general neighborhood, with a slightly less budget. The visual effects are serviceable but probably won’t blow you away, which actually kind of adds to the camp of the whole thing once you get used to it. If you’re a fan of other cult-y, obscure British comedy shows like Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, you’ll have no problem acclimating at all.
All told, Truth Seekers may be pretty surface level in terms of story, but it never overstays its welcome, shines a spotlight on some very funny people, and is arriving just in time for Halloween weekend. It’s a worthy watch, especially if you’re finding yourself starved for new content as the year continues to drag on.
All eight episodes of Truth Seekers are streaming now on Amazon Prime.
