“School Spirits” is a teen mystery drama about a girl who can’t die, and it mostly earns its place among the crowded field of supernatural shows. Created by Nate Trinrud and Megan Trinrud, the series premiered on Paramount+ on March 9, 2023 and ran four seasons across 24 episodes before ending on March 4, 2026. The show follows Maddie Nears, played by Peyton List, who finds herself trapped in a high school purgatory while investigating her own mysterious disappearance.
The premise is simple: Maddie is stuck in the afterlife, and she solves crimes to understand why she vanished. Each case pulls back the curtain on darker secrets in her small Wisconsin town of Split River. The show leans on an ensemble cast anchored by List, Milo Manheim, and Kristian Ventura, with recurring support from Spencer MacPherson, Kiara Pichardo, Sarah Yarkin, Nick Pugliese, Rainbow Wedell, Josh Zuckerman, Miles Elliot, Ci Hang Ma, Quinn, Yuri, and Rhonda.
Trailer, via Paramount Plus.
Maddie’s Afterlife Journey
Maddie is the engine of “School Spirits,” and List sells her frustration and curiosity with a performance that keeps the show grounded even when the plot turns toward the supernatural. She’s a teenager who should be moving on, but she can’t, and the show spends its runtime exploring why. The journey isn’t just about solving cases; it’s about Maddie learning to live with being dead.
Manheim plays Wally Clark, Maddie’s best friend and a constant presence in her life. Ventura’s Simon Elroy rounds out the core trio as a fellow student who helps Maddie navigate the strange rules of her afterlife existence. Together, the three form the backbone of a show that often relies on their chemistry to carry slow stretches.
The Purgatory World
The show’s version of purgatory is a high school that never closes. Students walk its halls, teachers teach, and the principal watches over everything. It’s a world where the living and the dead interact, though Maddie is the only one who sees the spirits. This setup allows the show to comment on teenage life in ways a normal drama couldn’t — cliques, bullies, and crushes all exist in a space where death is a permanent fact.
“The closer she gets to discovering the truth, the more secrets and lies she uncovers.”
That line captures the show’s central tension. Every answer leads to another question, and Maddie’s investigation keeps expanding until it touches nearly everyone in Split River. The show doesn’t rush this process. Episodes spend time on character moments, letting the audience get to know Maddie’s friends and family before the mysteries deepen.
The Case Files
Each season introduces new cases that feed into the larger mystery of Maddie’s disappearance. The show is at its best when it balances the personal with the procedural. A murder might feel like a cold case file, but it always ties back to Maddie’s past. The writers keep the stakes intimate — these are crimes that affect people Maddie knows — which makes the resolution feel earned rather than forced.
The show’s third season, which premiered in January 2026, brought in new recurring faces: Jennifer Tilly as Dr. Deborah Hunter-Price, Ari Dalbert as Kyle, and Erika Swayze as Livia. These additions expanded the scope of the purgatory world without diluting the focus on Maddie. The show also promoted Miles Elliot and Ci Hang Ma to the main cast, giving them more screen time as the season progressed.
The Fourth Season and the End
The fourth season wrapped in March 2026, bringing the series to a close. The show’s renewal for a fourth season came after the third-season finale, meaning the creators had time to plan an ending that resolved Maddie’s arc rather than leaving it open-ended.
| Season | Premiere | Main Cast | New Faces |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 9, 2023 | List, Manheim, Ventura | None |
| 2 | Not stated | Same cast | Not stated |
| 3 | Jan 2026 | List, Manheim, Ventura, Elliot, Ma | Tilly, Dalbert, Swayze |
| 4 | Mar 2026 | Full cast | None |
The table shows how the show grew its ensemble over time. Season one introduced the core trio; season three added Elliot and Ma to the main cast, and season four kept the full group together for the finale.
What Works, What Doesn’t
The show’s strengths are its characters and its tone. Maddie is a compelling protagonist, and the show treats her grief and anger with honesty rather than melodrama. The writing also does a good job of balancing the supernatural elements with realistic teenage drama, making the ghostly world feel lived-in rather than abstract.
Where the show falters is in pacing. Some middle episodes drag, particularly in the later seasons, where the mystery pileup can become overwhelming. The show also leans heavily on flashbacks to explain Maddie’s past, which sometimes breaks the flow of the present-day investigation.
“School Spirits” is a solid entry in the teen drama genre. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but it handles its premise with care and a strong sense of identity. The cast delivers consistently, and the writing keeps the mystery engaging enough to hold attention through its four-season run.
The show’s ending wraps up the series in a way that respects the story it built. It’s a show about closure, and it finds its own version of it.
Score: 7.8 of 10.
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