“It’s a whole new show for me,” said Kristian Ventura when asked about his experience filming School Spirits Season 3 during an interview with Collider at Sundance 2026. This sentiment succinctly encapsulates watching the Paramount+ show’s newest season, which flips the narrative on its head, reverse-engineers the stakes, and rises to the challenge of a hellish tone. Of the season’s eight episodes, the first three were provided for review, and they were enough to appreciate that School Spirits is heading in a bold, new direction. The foundation of the previous seasons remains, including that teenage angst and coming-of-age sweetness, but it takes on a darker form that works admirably thus far.

School Spirits Season 2 left us on the jaw-dropping cliffhanger of Maddie (Peyton List) returning to her physical body and Simon (Ventura) getting trapped in a red scar. The third season picks up right there, with Maddie navigating the repercussions of her disappearance in her home life and at school while Simon takes up Maddie’s mantle in the afterlife. It’s the first overt role reversal of the season, but there are many more surprises to come, redefining everything we thought we knew about Split River High and its mysterious limbo.

‘School Spirits’ Season 3 Embraces Its Darkness in Death and Life

The first two seasons of School Spirits were a comforting brand of ghostly, but the third season wafts into the territory of ghoulish or almost demonic. On both the living and dead sides of the story, the series ups the ante with a slew of villains and creepy entities, leaning into the seeds of horror that were budding in the background of the first seasons. Many of the introduced ideas tread on familiar ground, including an ultra-strict authority figure summoned from the nightmares of every high school student, a classic Carrie bloodbath scene, or suspicions of malicious counterparts to our kind ghosts. However, this does not mean that the show doesn’t incorporate these ideas seamlessly into the story; nothing feels forced, and its darker trajectory is cohesive.

Additionally, what better way to plunge into darkness than to introduce a horror icon to the cast? School Spirits previously teased the addition of Jennifer Tilly, who doesn’t quite have a major role in the first three episodes of the season, but her brief on-screen appearances already demand our attention. Her character may begin as an archetype, but disturbing undercurrents to her behavior and demeanor are hopefully setting up the “seriously unhinged” revelation Tilly hints at during the same Sundance interview. She plays a huge role in crafting the dread-laden atmosphere that hangs over the school and is vital for the show’s tonal shift; thus, it was an effective casting choice.

Alongside its promising cumulative darkness are the light-hearted coming-of-age components that make School Spirits the teenage romp that it is; though even these take on a more serious tone. More so than previously, grief, loss, and anxiety during adolescence become bigger themes in the show, where the supporting cast’s backstories and identities are fleshed out in moving sequences, particularly Yuri (Cihang Ma) and Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin). While occasionally it can be emotionally overwhelming, there is usually a reprieve through dark humor or utterly ridiculous yet fitting subplot two characters find themselves in — infiltrating a group of teenage mean girls is apparently just as daunting as escaping the afterlife.

‘School Spirits’ Season 3 Doesn’t Lose Itself in Novelty

In many shows with expansive world-building, there is usually a make-or-break point where adding another layer atop an already complex system can either make it far too convoluted or stronger. It seems that School Spirits is reaching that point with its supernatural system as the first three episodes set up numerous moving parts to its afterlife. So far, the writing and direction are confident enough that added elements aren’t disrupting the story’s flow or immersive nature. Precise and clear storytelling makes suspense in the atmosphere possible; if previous seasons are anything to go by, there should be a decent payoff though it’s too soon to tell.

Not only do paranormal rules expand but so does setting. In Season 2, Xavier’s (Spencer MacPherson) near-death accident granted him ability to communicate with dead in hospital including Maddie’s father. As expected, that plays a huge role in Season 3; thus hospital becomes staple set in show contributing to its pursuit of darker (and ironically enough funnier) material. There are also a couple of new sets in afterlife that are impressively creepy, truly signaling series’ tonal shift. Thus far, School Spirits is juggling its new rules locations and characters with strong clear direction while still balancing these with emotional texture that resides at heart of show.

Peyton List Delivers Her Strongest Performance in ‘School Spirits’ Season 3

Now that Maddie and Simon’s roles are essentially flipped in Season 3, School Spirits introduces a whole new set of relationships and stakes through ensemble cast’s performances and chemistry. Maddie’s interactions with her living friends are filtered through strangeness of her disappearance and unresolved issues they had before communication was abruptly cut off. In Season 2 List’s performance was divided between her roles as Maddie and Janet-Maddie but here her attention is wholly directed at bizarre grueling circumstances Maddie’s reappearance has led to. Some of her strongest performances in show are in these episodes, carried out with unexpected grit that her character benefits from.

Meanwhile Simon is meeting all ghosts face-to-face for first time resulting in some memorable interactions. Naturally dynamics between ghosts change with this addition especially after disappointingly anticlimactic decision at beginning of season. While narrative choice makes sense long-run execution harms stakes of show. Despite that, Simon’s new situation and relationships offer new set of stakes that lean more into realm of horror than supernatural drama making for gripping viewing experience.

In first three episodes School Spirits Season 3 is clearly gearing up for some kind of supernatural chaos and its approach thus far has been effective. For series that prioritized teenage stories through supernatural lens, it’s bold move to strike out into more overt horror but it’s working in show’s favor. If series continues down this path Season 3 could potentially become strongest scariest installment yet.

School Spirits Season 3 premieres on January 28 only on Paramount+.

Here you can find the original article; the photos and images used in our article also come from this source. We are not their authors they have been used solely for informational purposes with proper attribution to their original source.[/nospin]

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