School Spirits - What We Know So Far
Fans of teen horror, beware and celebrate, because there's an upcoming Paramount+ series that promises to be a spooky outing for younger audiences. Titled "School Spirits," the show will reportedly be based on an upcoming graphic novel from Maria Nguyen, Nate Trinrud, and Megan Trinrud (per Deadline). As the streamer's website boasts, Paramount+ has been steadily building a robust line-up of young adult content, including projects like the "iCarly" reboot and the critically acclaimed streaming film "Honor Society."
Though there isn't much known about the plot of "School Spirits" just yet (beyond that it will reportedly feature a mystery centered around a ghostly ensemble of undead teens and tweens), Paramount+ has released the impressive roster of names attached to the project. Contributors range from "Pretty Little Liars" and "American Horror Story" alumni to former Disney Channel stars. Big details about this exciting project are now beginning to emerge, and it's shaping up to be a must-watch for lovers of supernatural shows.
From the release schedule to the confirmed cast and crew, here's what we know about "School Spirits" so far.
When will School Spirits be released?
There is currently no concrete release date for "School Spirits." It is worth noting that the book it's based on hasn't actually been released yet, and isn't due for release until late 2023. Does that mean we'll have to wait until at least 2024 to see "School Spirits" on the screen? Not necessarily. According to Collider, "the series and the graphic novel will be released simultaneously with the latter slated to be published in the fall of 2023." It looks like a potential Halloween release for both the novel and the series is on the cards.
Despite the release being far from imminent, Twitter users are already buzzing about "School Spirits." User @mymyatwaterloo shared several behind-the-scenes photos of the show's cast with the caption "such a pretty cast like woah i'm invested." Another user, @vitoriaxoswald, wrote "Eu não sei se estou vivendo ou só esperando School Spirits estrear," which Twitter translates to "I don't know if I'm living or just waiting for School Spirits to come out." The fandom has already developed to the point that there's fan art doing the rounds.
Who is starring in School Spirits?
As reported by Variety and Deadline, the series will star Disney Channel alums Peyton List and Milo Manheim. List, who today is best known for her work on the hit Netflix show "Cobra Kai," will play a teenage girl trapped in a ghostly in-between state after being murdered. The series will reportedly follow her efforts to work with fellow undead souls to solve her own killing, with Manheim's Wally being one of her allies. Wally is described by Deadline as "a lovable ghost from the 1980s who in his glory days was a star high school football player." Manheim previously starred in the Disney Channel's "Zombies" trilogy, and he is set to be in the upcoming Disney+ projects "Prom Pact" and the second season of "Doogie Kameāloha, M.D."
The series will also feature Kristian Flores ("Reboot") as Simon Elroy, Spencer MacPherson ("Reign) as Xavier Baxter, Kiara Pichardo ("The Society") as Nicole Herrera, Sarah Yarkin ("Happy Death Day 2U") as Rhonda, Nick Pugliese ("Dramarama") as Charley, and Rainbow Wedell ("The Wilds") as Claire Zolinski. Jayce Barreiro ("Riverdale"), Patrick Gilmore ("Travelers"), and Josh Zuckerman ("The Offer") have been cast as teachers at the school, and "13 Reasons Why" star Maria Dizzia will play a character called Sandra Nears.
Who else is involved in School Spirits?
For showrunner duties, Deadline reports that Paramount+ has tapped Oliver Goldstick, the producer and screenwriter behind the likes of "Bridgerton" and "Pretty Little Liars." He's an executive producer on "School Spirits," as is Max Winkler, who helms the first episode. The pilot was written by Nate and Megan Trinrud, co-creators of the source material. They're also taking up executive producer roles on the series. The presence of the Trinruds should help keep the tones of both works in line with each other.
Director Max Winkler has a good pedigree, having worked on a number of projects from Ryan Murphy. These include the most recent seasons of "American Horror Story" and its spin-off series "American Horror Stories." For the newer show, Winkler took the reins on Season 1's "The Naughty List," an episode about a bunch of influencers who get themselves in trouble, and Season 2's "Aura," the story of a woman who sees ghosts through her doorbell camera.
"School Spirits" will be produced by Awesomeness Live-Action Studio, which appears to be a division of AwesomenessTV. The studio was founded in 2012 by Brain Robbins (who was hired by Paramount in 2017) and television multi-hyphenate Joe Davola. Shauna Phelan and Zack Olin — executive vice presidents at Nickelodeon and Awesomeness — will be a supervising force on the production team.