Ghostwriter, on PBS
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When this premiered in 1992, I guess I would have been 17. So I was a bit too old for it, and at the time I didn't think it was a particularly good show, but I still enjoyed it well enough. And I appreciated its efforts to encourage kids to read. Looking back on it now, I feel like I may have been too harsh with my estimation of its quality. I suppose if I ever watched it again, I'd probably still find it somewhat cheesy and silly, but I also think it's possible I could have a greater appreciation for it. Partly because of nostalgia, but also... I mean, I don't know, I just think I may have underrated it. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I learned the word "bodega" from this show.

Anyway, this group of middle school kids were befriended by some weird sort of thing which might be a ghost, who can only communicate by moving letters around to make words... on paper, computer screens, in the air, wherever. The kids named him "Ghostwriter", and together they solved mysteries. I don't really remember it well enough to say much more about it, but I believe my favorite character was probably Lenni. And I guess it wasn't until 2026 that I learned that Ghostwriter's identity, who he was before he died, was revealed in an interview or something in 2010. I won't spoil that, but I will say it makes sense for the character, and it's pretty intense.

CBS aired a sort of reboot in 1997, but I don't think I saw any of that. I guess it was poorly received, compared to the original series, and didn't last long. Another reboot began streaming on Apple TV+ in 2019. I'd kind of like to check it out, but I don't get that service, so I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to see it.