When School Spirits returns for Season 2, Peyton List’s Maddie Nears will be on a quest to regain her body from Janet (Jess Gabor). The teen fantasy drama stars a troupe of young talents led by List in a tale that follows Maddie’s efforts to unravel her mysterious disappearance while settling into high school in the afterlife. Created by sibling duo Megan and Nate Trinrud, School Spirits premiered on Paramount+ in March 2023 to rave reviews.
The show picked up the ReFram Stamp Award for its gender-balanced casting, garnering positive reviews and approval ratings that guaranteed its return for a second season. School Spirits was greenlit for Season 2 in June 2023 after it became Paramount+’s most popular young adult series. Still in production, the second installment is expected to arrive in late 2024. Season 1’s finale set up the premise for the upcoming season, promising another exciting paranormal story revolving around high school in the afterlife. Meet the cast of the supernatural teen drama mystery.
Peyton List As Maddie Nears
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The American actress began her career as a child model and made her acting debut in the early 2000s. She had uncredited roles in As The World Turns (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). Peyton List gained more visibility with productions like 27 Dresses (2008) and Remember Me (2010). Her popularity soared in the 2010s as Emma Rose and Holly Hills in Jessie and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, respectively. She reprised the former role in Bunk’d (2015-2021) and is also known for portraying Tory Nichols in Cobra Kai (2019 -2024). The Maddie actress won her first award in 2013 when Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days won the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast.
Kristian Ventura As Simon Elroy
Kristian Ventura plays Maddie’s friend Simon Elroy in School Spirits. He’s a published author from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Ventura made headlines in 2022 for igniting a war between agencies eager to sign him. He studied acting at the University of Southern California and performed in over 100 short films before his role in Steven Levitan’s Reboot (2022), which he counts as the first credit of his professional career. He also made his feature film debut in 2022 as Dex in Elizabeth Ayiku’s acclaimed drama film Me Little Me. While School Spirits is considered his breakthrough role, Ventura has performed in several notable productions like Grimcutty, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and Gray Matter.
Milo Manheim As Wally Clark
Milo Manheim plays a ghost from the 80s in the fantasy drama. Before School Spirits, he was known for his role in Disney’s Zombies (2018) and the sequels — Zombies 2 (2020) and Zombies 3 (2022). The Wally actor began his career at age seven when he joined an after-school acting program in Culver City, Los Angeles. He soon began performing in musicals with Liza Monjauze Productions. This paved the way for Amber Horn to discover him. The casting director invited Manheim to audition for the first Zombies movie which marked a turning point for the Californian who made his screen debut in a 2009 episode of Ghost Whisperer.
Spencer Macpherson As Xavier Baxter
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The Canadian actor portrays Maddie’s boyfriend in School Spirits. Spencer Macpherson began his career on stage at a young age and later proceeded to Cawthar Park Secondary School, a regional art school in Mississauga, Ontario. He graduated from the drama school in 2015, the same year he played Wannabe/Ranikar in four episodes of Defiance. Macpherson debuted onscreen the previous year as Hunter Hollingsworth in Degrassi: The Next Generation. He’s also known for his roles in Reign (2015 – 2017), Degrassi: Next Class (2016 – 2017), Northern Rescue (2019), American Gods (2021), and The Way Home (2024).
Kiara Pichardo As Nicole Herrera
As Maddie’s friend in School Spirits, Kiara Pichardo continues to build her growing Hollywood reputation. The American actress from Lawrence, Massachusetts debuted in 2015 and gained mainstream recognition as Madison in Christopher Keyser’s The Society (2019). At the turn of the decade, she appeared in popular productions like I Care a Lot (2020), CODA (2021), and Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021) before taking on Nicole Herrera. Pichardo starred alongside Chris Owen and Naheem Garcia in Julian Lowenthal’s 2024 drama film Money Game.
Sarah Yarkin As Rhonda
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An American performer from California, Sarah Yarkin plays a ghost killed by the guidance counselor at Split River High School. She has been acting since her time at Piedmont High School. Yarkin later studied at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. She debuted onscreen in College Essay Number One, a 2011 short drama directed by Zachary Clarence. After several appearances on television shows in the 2010s, Sarah Yarkin landed her first major role, playing Peg in Foursome (2017). Since then, she has performed in popular productions like Happy Death Day 2U (2019), Single Parents (2019 – 2020), Motherland: Fort Salem (2020), and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022).
Nick Pugliese As Charley
Nick Pugliese plays the ghost of a gay student who introduced Maddie to the afterlife. The School Spirits actor has been acting since he was eight. He majored in theatre at Loyola Marymount University before debuting as Larry Kotter in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why. This was in 2017, the same year he appeared as Charlie in A Denied Dream. Pugliese played Gene in Jonathan Wysocki’s 2020 comedy drama Dramarama. The following year, he co-wrote and starred in Thank You for Being Here, a short comedy directed by Elizabeth Archer. Alongside Natasha Behnam, he’s billed to star in Tyler Peterson’s upcoming miniseries Barden and Sarah Start a Pandemic.
Rainbow Wedell As Claire Zomer
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As Claire Zomer, a cheerleader with whom Xavier cheated on Maddie, Rainbow Wedell adds another layer of depth to her Hollywood profile. The Finnish-Vanuatu actress has been active since 2011 when she appeared in an episode of Terra Nova. Her first significant role came in 2018 as Ruksy in Netflix’s The Bureau of Magical Things. After season 2 of the Australian fantasy drama concluded in August 2021, Wedell appeared as Lena in a 2022 episode of The Wilds before landing her School Spirits role. Check out what to expect in the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale.
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