As School Spirits heads into its third season this week, stars Peyton List and Milo Manheim spoke to PopCulture.com about the show’s impact.
The first three episodes of the new season drop on Wednesday on Paramount+.
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School Spirits premiered in 2023 and became an instant hit. The series has a strong 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 92% audience score. Fans can’t seem to get enough of the story, centering on List’s Maddie, who is stuck in the afterlife and has to investigate her own mysterious disappearance, turning to the spirits trapped at Split River High School for help as she gets closer to the truth and discovers even more secrets and lies.
Ahead of the new season, List and Manheim, who plays Wally, reflected on the series and the impact it’s had on fans. List revealed it’s “been so fun to watch people just embrace these characters and just celebrate each storyline.” She continued, “And Charley (Nick Pugliese), I feel, is such a beloved character that is just better this season. He’s so great, and him and Miles [Elliot], Yuri, together are amazing. They’re so great. So, it’s just so exciting. It just started out as a show where we’re like, ‘Are we gonna do a Season 2? Are people going to watch this?’ And so the fact that people have and make it possible for us to do this is so cool.”
Manheim confessed that seeing the fans’ response to School Spirits has been “the most incredible part of this whole experience. And, also, so not only that people are just enjoying the show, but people seem to be really touched by the deeper meaning behind it all. And, also, every character, we kind of just figure out in the first season, is going through a uniquely difficult sort of trauma. And we were talking about this earlier. Whether viewers realize it or not, I think that’s something that heal from watching the show and don’t feel as alone. There are really unique dynamics that I don’t think we’ve seen in film or TV before because there’s just so many weird rules for this universe. It’s amazing.”
Season 3 of School Spirits is likely to keep even more fans on the edge of their seats and wanting more every week. Of course, it’s hard to predict what the future of the series will look like, but the fan reception has been pretty great with the first two seasons. It wouldn’t be surprising if Season 3 received similar praise.
The new season “plunges Maddie Nears and her friends into a deeper, darker mystery as the veil between worlds grows dangerously thin, delivering twists that challenge everything they thought they knew. After clawing her way back to life, Maddie struggles with terrifying visions and the weight of protecting both the living and the dead while Simon (Kristian Ventura) – trapped in the afterlife – becomes obsessed with the secrets buried in Split River High’s scars. Why have so many people died at Split River High? What was Mr. Martin (Josh Zuckerman) warning them about? As they search for answers, new dangers and dark secrets begin to surface.”
The first two seasons of School Spirits are streaming now on Paramount+. The first three episodes of Season 3 premiere on Wednesday, with new episodes dropping weekly.