This article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of “School Spirits” Season 2.
In the first three episodes of “School Spirits” Season 2, Maddie Nears (Peyton List) realizes that while she’s stuck in limbo in the high school, her body, which has been possessed by the ghost of ’50s student Janet (Jess Gabor), is AWOL.
Her friends, led by Simon (Kristian Ventura) and Xavier (Spencer MacPherson), track Janet-as-Maddie to her childhood home, but then lose her… until she unexpectedly turns up to Maddie’s very surprised mother (Maria Dizzia), who assumed that her daughter is probably dead.
The show’s creators, Oliver Goldstick, Megan Trinrud and Nate Trinrud, teased what happens in the next few episodes (which roll out on a weekly basis) and explained that huge “Veronica Mars” homage.
TheWrap: We ended Episode 3 where Janet-as-Maddie stops running and comes back to Maddie’s mom. What happens next?
Megan Trinrud: We had a really good time exploring the next section of episodes. How do I say this without giving anything away? There’s more crossover, with Simon getting Xavier and the others on board, little by little. If they’re open to the idea that this could be real, they are open to the idea that there are ghosts all around them.
It was just so much fun to be able to let the living and the ghost world collide a little bit more. It also allows for growth and change in the characters. Because they are learning new things about each other, about themselves, and the dynamic is a big part of sending them through the rest of the season. That overlap is really exciting. People are really going to enjoy the way that plays out for the rest of the season.
Nate Trinrud: [Simon and Xavier is] our favorite bromance of the year. Well, actually, there’s a few bromances this season, but they’re two incredible actors. They were really at odds in Season 1, so what does it mean if they have to work together to try and solve this mystery? The dynamic is so rich, and it’s really fun to be able to put two young guys into a conversation about friendship and being there for each other. Especially in Episode 3, you get a beat of realizing that these guys need to rely on each other in a real way.
Let’s talk about new ghost addition Quinn (Ci Hang Ma) and her love of “Veronica Mars,” including the murder board. Were you big fans of the show?
NT: Huge, huge fan.
MT: Yeah. The writer of Episode 3, Thomas Higgins, put that in as a little easter egg specifically for us, because he knows how much we love that show. We’ve always loved YA, we’ve always loved mysteries. That was one of the first shows where I thought to myself, “I want to write a show like this.” It was really fun being able to reference that. Also, Quinn would have graduated the same year that I graduated high school and we figured Quinn would have only seen the first season of “Veronica Mars.”
Were you in the band as well?
MT: We played the mellophone. We played Quinn’s instrument. We drew on a lot of personal experience for Quinn. Marching band was a huge part of our high school experience. We still are close friends with a lot of people we marched with.
Are they watching the show?
MT: I talked to a couple from the horn section today, some good friends. I was consulting them for terminology. It’s been really fun.
Whose idea was it to have the ghosts dress up as characters from “Grease?” Rhonda (Sarah Yarkin) makes the perfect Rizzo. And Wally (Milo Manheim) as Danny!
Oliver Goldstick: I pitched a Janet birthday party not just for the fun of seeing the ’50s costumes, but to show Mr. Martin (Josh Zuckerman) and Janet’s relationship being enigmatic and [everyone else trying] to unravel that evening in a “Rashomon” kind of way. And we just wanted to embrace seeing them in that period.
The first three episodes of “School Spirits” Season 2 are now streaming on Paramount+. New episodes premiere each Thursday through March 6.
