School Spirits With 91% Rotten Tomatoes Score Returns for Season 3

If you thought School Spirits was going to take a break from its whole 'afterlife high school detective squad' thing, surprise — Paramount+ is doubling down. The supernatural teen series is coming back for Season 3, and we finally have a release date. Here’s the lowdown on what to expect (and, yeah, some details are pretty wild if you’re following this show closely).

Season 3 Drops in January, But Don’t Binge Just Yet

The next round of School Spirits hits Paramount+ on January 28, 2026. But before you block off your Saturday for a marathon, know this: only one episode lands on day one, and then they're rolling these out weekly. I know, the old-school suspense.

Who's Back In Split River?

If you got attached to the cast in Seasons 1 and 2, good news: most of your favorites are back. The show's led by Peyton List (as Maddie Nears, still tangled up in that unsolved-murder-afterlife mess) and Milo Manheim. Returning actors include Nick Pugliese, Kiara Pichardo, Spencer MacPherson, and Rainbow Wedell, alongside other regulars. No big surprise exits announced — at least, for the living and the dead who are still hanging around.

What The Trailer (and That Blurb) Tell Us

Paramount+ dropped the trailer on January 8, 2026, and if you like your supernatural shows with a side of 'seriously, how is this getting even darker?', you’ll probably be into this. The official description is about as subtle as a ghost with a megaphone:

'Maddie Nears and her friends dig way deeper into the mysteries haunting Split River High. That whole barrier between the living and the dead? It's basically falling apart now—so expect more twists, more visions, and Maddie stuck balancing both worlds. Meanwhile, Simon is still stuck in the afterlife, totally obsessed with the school's most disturbing secrets. The big questions: Why do people keep dying at Split River High? And what exactly was Mr. Martin warning them about?'

It sounds like this season is going full horror — more ghosts, new threats, and even darker secrets about the high school. Guess they're not running out of haunted locker room stories any time soon.

How Is the Show Actually Doing?

Honestly, School Spirits is killing it with critics and audiences. The first season pulled an 83% critic score and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is impressive for a show that could have easily been 'just another teen ghost drama'. Season 2, somehow, did even better: a perfect 100% with the critics, and 91% from the people watching at home. That’s the kind of score you almost never see unless baby animals are directly involved.

So...What's Different This Season?

If you're worried Season 3 might be a repeat, co-creator Nate Trinrud insists otherwise. In his chat with Screen Rant, he basically admitted they're leaning even further into the horror, pushing at the boundaries of both worlds and the psyches of their characters.

'It's dark. This is certainly a season that's going to dip a little bit more into some of the horror elements. I think we're really diving into the psyches of both the ghosts we've met and some we haven't.'

Translation: It may have started as a supernatural whodunit, but this season's fully embracing the disturbing side. Expect new ghosts, deeper character dives, and probably some plotlines that get talked about in online forums for months.

Quick Recap for the Curious

• Show: School Spirits
• Platform: Paramount+
• Season 3 Release Date: January 28, 2026 (weekly episodes, not all at once)
• Main Cast Returning: Peyton List, Milo Manheim, Nick Pugliese, Kiara Pichardo, Spencer MacPherson, Rainbow Wedell
• Season 1 RT scores: 83% critic, 89% audience
• Season 2 RT scores: 100% critic, 91% audience
• New Season Vibe: Even darker, more horror-focused, with big mysteries and new ghosts

So if you want a supernatural show that isn’t afraid to get weird and really, really bleak, School Spirits Season 3 should already be on your watchlist. And if you can’t get enough of high school drama with literal existential stakes, there you go — your next obsession arrives in January.