If you’re still reeling from the jaw-dropping cliffhanger of School Spirits Season 2, you’re not alone. The Paramount+ supernatural teen drama has masterfully blended high school drama with ghostly intrigue, leaving fans desperate for more. Maddie Nears’ quest for answers just got a whole lot spookier, and with Season 3 officially greenlit, the afterlife at Split River High is about to get even more crowded. In this deep dive, we’ll speculate on the release date, break down the returning and new cast members, and unpack the plot details (and rumors) that have everyone buzzing. Whether you’re a die-hard ghost hunter or just dipping your toes into this spectral series, here’s everything you need to know about School Spirits Season 3.
School Spirits Season 3 Release Date Speculations
Hold onto your yearbooks, because the wait for more Maddie Nears adventures feels eternal, but good news lurks in the shadows. Paramount+ dropped the renewal bomb back in March 2025, right after Season 2 wrapped its eight-episode run. Production kicked off in Vancouver on July 21, 2025, and wrapped up by mid-October, giving editors plenty of time to weave in those spine-tingling effects. No exact premiere date has surfaced yet, but patterns from past seasons point to early 2026—think January or March, mirroring how Season 2 landed on January 30, 2025, after Season 1’s March 2023 debut.
School Spirits Season 3 Expected Cast
The gang’s mostly all here, ready to stir up spectral drama, but with a few fresh faces to keep things unpredictable. At the core, Peyton List slips back into Maddie’s sneakers—fierce, frustrated, and forever fabulous in the afterlife. Milo Manheim’s Wally Clark, the ’80s jock with a heart of gold, sparked early worries when he missed the first day of filming (thanks to Jesus Christ Superstar duties), but Paramount+ shut down rumors with a cheeky Instagram snap of him back on set, football in hand. Fans breathed a collective sigh; Wally’s bromance with Maddie is pure magic.
Kristian Ventura returns as Simon Elroy, the living bestie whose Season 2 arc tugs every heartstring. Spencer MacPherson’s Xavier Baxter brings the brooding charm, while Kiara Pichardo’s Nicole Herrera and Rainbow Wedell’s Claire Zomer add that sharp-tongued teen energy no high school ghost story skips. Over in the ethereal crew, Sarah Yarkin’s sassy Rhonda, Nick Pugliese’s sweet Charley, and Josh Zuckerman’s enigmatic Mr. Martin aren’t fading away anytime soon.
Season 2 standouts get upgrades: Miles Elliot’s Yuri and Ci Hang Ma’s Quinn leap to series regulars, promising more layers to the afterlife support group. And oh, the new blood! Jennifer Tilly storms in as Dr. Deborah Hunter-Price, the superintendent with a villainous vibe—think sharp suits and sharper secrets, straight out of her Chucky playbook. Ari Dalbert joins as Kyle and Erika Swayze as Livia, both recurring roles that scream “plot rocket fuel.” Recurring vets like Patrick Gilmore (Mr. Anderson) and Ian Tracey (Sheriff Baxter) pop back too, tying loose ends from the living side.
School Spirits Season 3 Potential Plot
Season 2 left us reeling: Maddie (finally!) reclaims her body from Janet, Mr. Martin’s experiments crack open like a bad Ouija board, and that red glow over Split River High? Total nightmare fuel. But the gut-punch? Simon, trapped in the “scar”—that swirling vortex of spiritual torment—screaming for rescue as the screen fades to black. Executive producer Oliver Goldstick spilled to TVLine that Simon’s dive into the other side “sucked him into the vortex,” hinting at a guy forever changed by peeking behind the curtain.
The official logline sets the stage: Maddie “must face the dangerous mystery behind Split River High School in order to save her best friend who might be lost forever.” Expect Maddie rallying her ghost squad—Wally’s loyalty, Charley’s quiet smarts, Rhonda’s fire—to storm the school’s hidden horrors. Rumors swirl about a “wider town mystery,” expanding beyond hallways to the hospital, maybe even a ghostly nexus pulling souls like a black hole. Could Dr. Tilly’s Hunter-Price tie into Martin’s mad science? Fans on Reddit theorize she’s the big bad, enforcing rules that keep spirits chained, while X chatter dreams up Rhonda-Quinn slow-burns and Charley-Yuri heart-to-hearts.
Deeper cuts? The show’s graphic novel roots stretch Split River’s haunt back to the 1920s, so flash-forwards or forgotten alumni ghosts could drop bombshells. Will Maddie risk everything for Simon, blurring lines between worlds even more? Or does Xavier’s ghost-seeing gift flip the script, letting the living crash the afterlife party? One thing’s clear: with co-showrunners Megan and Nate Trinrud planting clues like breadcrumbs, Season 3 promises twists that’ll have group chats exploding
