REVIEW: A review of the captivating ‘School Spirits’ season three premiere

On Wednesday Jan. 28, 2026, Paramount+ released the first three episodes of its supernatural drama "School Spirits," a story that has captivated audiences since 2023 starring Peyton List and Milo Manheim.

For those who were disappointed by the ending of "Stranger Things," "School Spirits" is an incredibly refreshing supernatural teen drama with a wonderfully written world, concisely planned plot twists and realistic yet moving portrayals of complicated topics. All of these traits have only improved with time, and the premiere episodes of the new season indicate that this might be the best season yet, although there are still a few flaws.

As a recap, the series follows senior Maddie Nears, played by Peyton List, in her afterlife stuck in Split River High. The opening scene shows Maddie, or rather, her ghost, watching a school assembly where the principal calls for schoolwide efforts to help solve her disappearance.

Simultaneously, Maddie works with the other spirits of the school to solve her murder.

Throughout Maddie’s ventures of investigating her murder, writing her own obituary and learning how to speak to the living, she fosters connections in the spirit world as well as forms a more nuanced understanding of those she knew in the living world.

Coming into the new season, Maddie has returned to her living body, while her best friend Simon has become trapped in the spirit world for reasons no one knows. Driving the main conflict is the struggle to bring Simon back to the living world.

In episode one, Janet Hamilton crosses over in an attempt to help Simon find a way out, and as a viewer, there are very mixed feelings. Although it is a very in-character action, it is very abrupt to the viewer, especially considering Janet was one of the most defining characters, if not the most defining character, of the second season. It would have been more beneficial to the plot to keep her as a major player in finding out how to help Simon and have her cross over later in a much more emotionally impactful scene.

Instead, she did it for the sake of someone she barely knew, and wasn’t able to say her goodbyes to those she did know. Overall, there’s a lack of closure in Janet’s story, but I hope her decision bears some significance later in the season.

Additionally, an ongoing pet peeve in the show is the delivery of the lines by some of the living characters, specifically the “Gen Z” language. Every poorly written TikTok reference makes the relatability of the characters suffer.

However, these writing flaws still don’t overshadow the biggest strengths. One of the best features of the series is its portrayal of complicated relationships.

Maddie's mother Sandra, played by Maria Dizzia, has a continuous struggle with alcoholism that has driven much of the conflict in Maddie’s life. By the end of the third episode, she finally agrees to return herself to rehab in a moment that is a sigh of relief for both the characters and viewers.

Xavier, who cheated on Maddie before her run in with the afterlife, is ultimately the one who helps her bridge the gap to communicate with her father's spirit in the hospital where he passed.

Although Xavier is not at all the right person to be moderating this interaction, he is the only one who physically can. This scene portrays a truth of life, that circumstances will not always be ideal in the most defining moments of our lives.

Another complicated topic that the thriller has always approached extremely well is the portrayal of queer characters. The build up to Quinn's coming out scene was truly stunning. Through the different clues they learn, the spirits create a theory that Quinn was the cause of the bus crash that killed the marching band instead of a band member.

When they finally confront Quinn, they reveal that they'd given the group a different name in order to better reflect their identity which they hadn’t been able to express during their lifetime, leading to the revelation that Mr. Martin was actually the person who crashed the bus.

This premiere also introduced two big-name actresses, Jennifer Tilly and Lizzy McAlpine. Although we've only seen Tilly in one episode so far, it will be interesting to see how her character of the sinister superintendent impacts the characters and possibly changes over time.

The soundtrack of this season is just as stunning as it has always been, and artist McAlpine plays a major role not only in the musical impact of the show, but is now a significant character. Her music has always been a staple to the drama, with her songs "doomsday" and "The Elevator" backtracking two of the most impactful scenes of the first two seasons.

At the end of the third premier episode, she is introduced as Joyce Ball, a confident '60s woman who we learned inspired Rhonda to attend Berkley college, discover herself and begin living authentically.Her scene ends with a guitar cover of "House of the Rising Sun."

Hopefully, these stars aren’t one-stop appearances.

As always, the final episode of the batch ended in a cliff hanger, raising more questions than answers.

Starting Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, each new episode will be added to Paramount+ weekly on Wednesdays, up until the season finale on March 4, 2026.

Sophie Barker (she/her) is a first year student majoring in history with a minor in literature. She can typically be found reading, listening to music, drinking something sweet or binge watching RuPaul’s Drag Race.

REVIEW: A review of the captivating ‘School Spirits’ season three premiere

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