School Spirits (2023 TV series)

School Spirits is an American supernatural teen drama television series created by Megan Trinrud and Nate Trinrud that premiered on Paramount+ on March 9, 2023. The series, adapted from the graphic novel by the Trinruds and Maria Nguyen, stars Peyton List, Kristian Ventura, Milo Manheim, and Spencer MacPherson in main roles. The series's third season premiered in January 2026. In March 2026, after the third-season finale, the series was renewed for a fourth season.

Plot

Set in the fictional town of Split River, Wisconsin, the show follows Maddie, a teen girl stuck in the afterlife investigating her own mysterious disappearance; she goes on a crime-solving journey as she adjusts to high school in the afterlife, but the closer she gets to the truth, the more secrets and lies she discovers.

Cast and characters

Main

Peyton List as Maddie Nears, a teenager who suddenly finds herself among the spirits that inhabit Split River High School. Maddie cannot remember what happened to her and spends the first season investigating her possible murder. Like all the spirits at the high school, she cannot leave the school grounds. List also portrays Janet Hamilton when Janet is inhabiting Maddie's body.
Kristian Ventura as Simon Elroy, Maddie's best friend in high school and the only living person who can now see and talk with her
Milo Manheim as Wally Clark, a teenage spirit who died during a high school football game. He becomes romantically interested in Maddie.
Spencer MacPherson as Xavier Baxter, Maddie's boyfriend in the living world. Maddie learns that he was cheating on her with cheerleader Claire Zomer.
Kiara Pichardo as Nicole Herrera, a close friend of Maddie and Simon
Sarah Yarkin as Rhonda Rosen, a cynical teenage spirit who was murdered by her guidance counselor
Nick Pugliese as Charley Kitani, a teenage spirit who becomes Maddie's first friend in the afterlife. Charley, who was allergic to nuts, died when he left his EpiPen at home and ate fries cooked in peanut oil at school. Before his death, Charley was in a relationship with Emilio Figueroa, who is now a teacher at the school.
Rainbow Wedell as Claire Zomer, the school's head cheerleader, Xavier's secret girlfriend, and Maddie's former childhood friend
Josh Zuckerman as Everett Martin (seasons 2Ã¢ÂÂpresent, recurring season 1), a spirit at Split River High School who leads an "afterlife support group." He was a science teacher before dying in a fire in his classroom lab. He appears to be interested to helping the teenage spirits "cross over".
Jess Gabor as Janet Hamilton (season 2; guest season 3), a teenage spirit who was an aspiring scientist and who was raised in a Christian household. She is mentioned throughout the first season, as the spirits had assumed she had crossed over, but after investigation it is revealed she did not and was locked in the fallout shelter in the basement. After Maddie remembers how she died, it is revealed Janet had possessed Maddie's body in an attempt to escape the shelter by pushing Maddie's spirit into the afterlife.
Miles Elliot as Yuri (season 3, recurring season 2), a teenage spirit who has spent his afterlife at the pottery wheel, ignoring most of the other ghosts. Yuri died in the school's greenhouse in the 1970s.
Ci Hang Ma as Quinn (season 3, recurring season 2), a teenage spirit who died in a bus accident on the return from a competition with the high school's marching band.

Recurring

Maria Dizzia as Sandra Nears, Maddie's alcoholic mother
RaeAnne Boon as Dawn (season 1, guest seasons 2Ã¢ÂÂ3), a carefree teenage spirit who died by accidental electrocution
Patrick Gilmore as Mr. Anderson, the high school's literature teacher who harbors a secret
Ian Tracey as Baxter, Xavier's father and the town's sheriff, who is investigating Maddie's disappearance while running for re-election
Jennifer Tilly as Deborah Hunter-Price (season 3), the new superintendent of Split River High

Guest

Lizzy McAlpine as Joyce Ball, a beatnik student in a flashback in Season 3

Episodes

Season 1 (2023)

Season 2 (2025)

Season 3 (2026)

Production

Development

In June 2023, the series was renewed for a second season. In March 2025, the series was renewed for a third season. In March 2026, the series was renewed for a fourth season.

Casting

In July 2025, it was announced that Miles Elliot and Ci Hang Ma, who had both recurred in the second season, had been promoted to the main cast for the third season. Three new recurring third-season roles were also announced: Jennifer Tilly as Dr. Deborah Hunter-Price, Ari Dalbert as Kyle, and Erika Swayze as Livia.

Release

The first season of School Spirits premiered March 9, 2023, on Paramount+. The second season premiered on January 30, 2025. The third season premiered on January 28, 2026.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 83% approval rating with an average rating of 7.3/10, based on 18 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "School Spirits leaves some of its promising potential untapped, but Peyton List's splendid starring performance makes this paranormal mystery a solid watch for anyone who remembers the phantom pain of growing up."

Daniel D'Addario of Variety wrote, "Without losing sight of the sorrow of Maddie's story, School Spirits manages to be surprisingly sparky and funÃ¢ÂÂproof positive that there are new stories to tell about the institution no one would ever want to be stuck in for their entire afterlife." Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Sometimes the familiar trappings of the high-school genre can open the door for a show to do wilder and more inventive things than more allegedly mature shows. School Spirits, unfortunately, takes no such liberties."