ICYMI: School Spirits Is the Most Underrated New Show of 2023
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Editor’s Note: Welcome to ICYMI! The strikes may be over, but we’re still highlighting some of the best shows you may have missed in the deluge of content from throughout the year. Join the Paste writers as we celebrate our underrated faves, the blink-and-you-missed-it series, and the perfect binges you need to make sure you see.
Beginning shortly after her untimely and mysterious death, School Spirits brings us into the world of Maddie Nears (Peyton List) as she tries to process her death, her new life as one of the many ghosts haunting Split River High School, and the fact that she doesn’t even know how she died. As she tries to recall her final moments and digs into people around her that she suspects could have had a hand in killing her, like her shady boyfriend Xavier (Spencer MacPherson), the investigation into her murder doesn’t go as planned, revealing some surprising truths. While School Spirits masquerades as just another teen murder mystery, it’s so much deeper than meets the eye. It’s a series you must check out (and, good news, it’s already been renewed for a second season).
The way to draw people into a show like School Spirits is to create an interesting mystery that is impossible to look away from. The series manages that almost immediately, as Maddie’s death is so perplexing and troubling, especially as the suspects start to become people exceptionally close to her. It is quite entertaining (if not perfectly tailored to the teen drama genre). Like with any mystery, there are twists and turns, ultimately leading to revelations that have little to nothing to do with Maddie. It feels reminiscent of Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars, in that the characters are so unbelievably terrible (in an enjoyable way) at actually solving the mystery that looms over them while discovering and solving multiple other mysteries they stumble into. However, just like Pretty Little Liars, it isn’t the mystery that kept people tuning in—it’s the characters.
In just eight episodes, the series does some absolutely stunning character work. This is particularly true with Maddie, the star of the show, who is forced to reckon with her life in a way that few ever do. She has to look at her friendships and relationships with fresh eyes, seeing where she went wrong (and, sometimes unbeknownst to her, where others treated her poorly). Her dream of escaping Split River is now out of her grasp, so Maddie has to find peace with the life she lived to some degree, in order to ultimately move on. Every relationship we see developed between Maddie and her peers (both living and dead) is simply fantastic, as there is genuine emotion and real connection between the characters that the series doesn’t ever shy away from exploring—even if it’s horrible, as with Maddie’s mother Sandra (Maria Dizzia).
Likewise, but to a lesser extent, the supporting characters are extremely compelling. Simon (Kristian Ventura) and Maddie’s connection is awe-worthy, while their friendship with Nicole (Kiara Pichardo) is a bit harder to swallow at times (though definitely worth exploring more, as it’s one area where Maddie majorly messed up during her life). Sketchy boyfriend Xavier, despite his flaws, becoming closer with Simon and Nicole is also one of the highlights of the series, as they develop such an unusual bond while desperately searching for answers about Maddie. The same goes for Claire (Rainbow Wedell), the so-called mean girl who has increasing potential for the series to explore moving forward.
But, as I’m sure many would agree, it’s the other ghosts that are the shining stars of the show. After Maddie’s death, she’s quickly introduced to ghosts Charley (Nick Pugliese), Wally (Milo Manheim), and Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin), each with their own devastating story of death and a life lost (especially Rhonda, who, like Maddie, was also murdered). While the ghosts have evolved from their particular eras in many ways, after watching the exploits of teens for decades, they are still fundamentally who they were when they died. Aside from Maddie, they provide some of the series’ most powerful moments, as they are fully in the throes of trying to cross over into the next stage of the afterlife and find peace (but have been unsuccessful in doing so).
The series tackles some heavy themes and stories that go far beyond your average teen drama, making it one of this year’s most underrated shows. Arguably the most beautifully tragic aspect of School Spirits is the grief over losing the life you had envisioned for yourself. This is something all of the ghosts are facing, even those that only have a few moments in the spotlight like Dawn (RaeAnne Boon). With Maddie, it’s a fresh wound, as her death is recent. She had her future planned out with her best friends, eager to move to Chicago and attend Northwestern as soon as possible. After all, her childhood had been no picnic. Following her father’s death, Maddie was essentially tasked with raising herself and taking care of her mother, as her mother’s alcoholism became a monster that she was fighting alone and couldn’t stop. Moving away was her chance to finally be free, which she had stripped from her, and the heartbreak of the situation (especially being stuck at her former high school) is almost palpable.
The other ghosts also deal with the grief that persists decades later, which makes the experience more emotional to watch. They’ve held on to certain things from their lives and are only now beginning to work through them, thanks in part to Maddie’s arrival and what she can offer them through her before-unheard-of connection to the real world.
And aside from the grief at the center of its ghastly storytelling, the series also shines while it digs into the emotional states of those Maddie left behind. Considering nobody is quite sure what happened to Maddie, and many don’t know whether to believe that she ran away or was murdered (as the police come to suspect), there are so many mixed emotions arising from these characters. Simon is heartbroken, fully believing she is dead. Nicole holds out hope that Maddie will return and continues searching for her, as does Sandra, who is realizing the depth of how much her reckless and at times mentally/emotionally abusive behavior and struggle with addiction harmed her daughter. Meanwhile, Xavier is wracked with guilt and regret over how he treated Maddie before the events of the show unfold. Grief is a beast, no matter the cause, which School Spirits understands very well and showcases excellently, something that many teen dramas fail to do.
In short, every story and every performance, to varying degrees, is imbued with a poignance that is simply unforgettable. The series tackles a heavy story with heart, kindness, and awareness. For instance, as the series depicts Maddie’s struggle with an alcoholic mother, the writers still remember to treat Sandra as a person dealing with a disease who is genuinely broken by what she did to her daughter. While School Spirits will entertain and keep you on the edge of your seat, especially after the finale delivers one of television’s best twists since The Good Place revealed they were all actually in hell, more importantly, it will move you.
Jay Snow is a freelance writer. He has published many places on the internet. For more of his thoughts on television and to see his other work (or to simply watch him gush again and again over his love for the original Charmed) follow him @snowyjay.
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