No lack of spirit at this school

Ghosts of teenagers try to figure out their afterlives on ‘School Spirits’

By DAVE MASON

NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

‘School Spirits” begins with a murder mystery and a great premise: an afterlife support group.

Students and a teacher, who all died at Split River High School, gather in a circle on chairs in the school gym for their meetings. They’re invisible to the living, including the basketball players in the gym. But what’s more interesting is they’re from different eras and social groups, much like the spirits on the CBS comedy “Ghosts.”

And like the “Ghosts” characters, they can’t leave the property where they died, so they’re stuck in this high school purgatory until they resolve their issues and move on to a better place. But their support group adviser is a teacher who’s straight out of the 1950s, and the others are from decades such as the 1990s, 1980s and earlier. Moving on apparently isn’t easy. But like all good ghosts, they don’t age.

“School Spirits” premiered recently on Paramount+, where new episodes stream on Thursdays. It’s worth your time because of its murder mystery, its quirkiness and the colorful characters who manage to never go over the top. You’ll find there’s a more haunting mix of comedy and drama here than on “Ghosts.”

Created by Executive Producers Nate Trinrud and Megan Trinrud, “Schools Spirits” is based on an upcoming graphic novel.

Peyton List of “Cobra Kai” fame stars as Maddie Nears, who just died but, unlike the other ghosts, can’t remember how. Fortunately, she’s able to connect with one living person, her best friend Simon (Kristian Flores of “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”). And he’s helping her to figure out who killed her.

The show stands out because of the unexpected twists and turns, the characters and a filming style that is more like a movie than a TV show. You can see that in the lighting and some of the camera angles.

The cast includes Spencer MacPherson as Xavier Baxter (Maddie’s boyfriend before she died), Kiara Pichardo as Nicole Herrera (Maddie’s still-living friend, who has her own role in tackling the murder mystery), Sarah Yarkin as Rhonda (a ghost who seems to be from the 1960s or early 1970s), Milo Manheim as Wally Clark (a ghost who was a school athlete in the 1980s), Josh Zuckerman as Mr. Martin (the afterlife support group’s faculty adviser), Rainbow Wedell as Claire Zomer and Nick Puglise as Charly (a ghost from the 1990s who serves as Maddie’s guide to the afterlife).

The acting is strong, particularly by Ms. Nears and Mr. Puglise, and their characters’ strictly platonic but still meaningful friendship is a reason to watch “School Spirits.”

The cast also includes Maria Dizzia as Sandra Nears, Maddie’s mother, who plays a key role in Maddie’s back story.

“School Spirits” is clearly

PHOTOS

Tenor

Erik is the music director of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which will perform Monday at The Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High School.

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

TODAY

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled:

Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805-565-6162 or visit westmont.edu/museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Storytelling: Native People Through the Lens of Edward S. Curtis” is on display through April 30 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, visit sbnature.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings: Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from nonnative plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Coast artist and London native Annie Hoffman’s exhibit “Seeing Ourselves in Colour” will be displayed through Feb. 28 at Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. For more information, visit anniehoffmann.com.

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “SURREAL designed as a series for young viewers, but the sense of mystery and references to earlier decades makes it a compelling show for all ages. email: dmason@newspress.com