PARAMOUNT+ RENEWS HIT ORIGINAL SERIES "SCHOOL SPIRITS" FOR A SECOND SEASON
Starring Peyton List and Produced by Awesomeness Studios, Season One is Currently Available to Stream Exclusively on Paramount+
June 20, 2023 - Paramount+ today announced that its hit original YA drama series SCHOOL SPIRITS was renewed for a second season. The eight-episode premiere season debuted earlier this year and ranked as the top YA series on the service during its run. Coming off a major cliffhanger, season two will go into production in 2024 and premiere at a later date exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and South Korea.
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“SCHOOL SPIRITS has captivated audiences with its gripping storyline, engaging characters and the enigmatic world of high school life, and we are thrilled to bring a second season to this loyal fan base across Paramount+,” said Shauna Phelan and Zack Olin, Executive Vice Presidents and Co-Heads at Nickelodeon and Awesomeness live-action series and films. “Maddie's quest to unravel the truth behind her mysterious disappearance has resonated with viewers, and we can't wait to continue this thrilling journey with them.”
“SCHOOL SPIRITS developed such a passionate and engaged fan base over the course of its first season, marking one of our most popular new young adult series to date,” said Domenic DiMeglio, chief marketing officer and head of data at Paramount Streaming. “The creative minds behind the series – showrunner Oliver Goldstick and creators Nate Trinrud & Megan Trinrud – and the extremely talented cast brought audiences a fresh take on high school – both in the present and in the after-life - and we can’t wait to see what happens next at Split River High.”
Produced by Awesomeness Studios, season one of SCHOOL SPIRITS is centered around Maddie (Peyton List), a teen stuck in the afterlife investigating her own mysterious disappearance. Maddie goes on a crime-solving journey as she adjusts to high school purgatory, but the closer she gets to discovering the truth, the more secrets and lies she uncovers.
SCHOOL SPIRITS stars Peyton List (Cobra Kai, Bunk’d) as Maddie Nears, and is based on the upcoming graphic novel by Nate Trinrud & Megan Trinrud, and Maria Nguyen, which is scheduled for publication in 2024 by Clarion Books/HarperAlley. Additional cast members in season one include Kristian Ventura (Reboot, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) as Simon Elroy, Spencer MacPherson (Reign, Degrassi: Next Class) as Xavier Baxter, Kiara Pichardo (The Society, Mother/Android) as Nicole Herrera, Sarah Yarkin (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Happy Death Day 2U) as Rhonda, Nick Pugliese (Dramarama) as Charley, Rainbow Wedell (The Wilds, The Bureau of Magical Things) as Claire Zomer and Milo Manheim (Zombies 3, Prom Pact) as Wally Clark. Josh Zuckerman (The Offer, Oppenheimer) and Maria Dizzia (13 Reasons Why, Orange Is the New Black) have recurring guest star roles as Mr. Martin and Sandra Nears, respectively.
Oliver Goldstick (Pretty Little Liars, Bridgerton) serves as showrunner and executive producer of SCHOOL SPIRITS, along with creators and executive producers Nate Trinrud & Megan Trinrud, who wrote the pilot. Max Winkler (Cruel Summer, Flower, Jungleland) directed and executive produced the first two episodes. List also serves as a producer on the series.
SCHOOL SPIRITS is a part of Paramount+’s growing lineup of young adult content, including series such as WOLF PACK and iCARLY as well as the original films TEEN WOLF: THE MOVIE, THE IN BETWEEN, HONOR SOCIETY and upcoming titles like GOOD BURGER 2 and LOVE IN TAIPEI.
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About Paramount+
Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news and a Mountain of Entertainment™. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ Premium also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream CBS News Network for 24/7 news and CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis.
For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms.
About Awesomeness
Founded in 2012, Awesomeness is a media company focused on serving the global Gen Z audience through its digital publishing, film and television studio divisions. Awesomeness has become the destination for youth culture, cultivating a loyal audience award-winning programming on the world’s biggest streaming services including Paramount+ (young adult drama series “School Spirits,” comedy film “Honor Society”), Netflix (smash-hit film series “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,” spinoff series “XO, Kitty,” Emmy® winner “Trinkets”) and Hulu (Emmy® winner “Zac & Mia”, Emmy® nominee “Pen15”), along with the company’s immensely popular short-form programs on YouTube (“Next Influencer,” Twin My Heart,” “Noah Beck Tries Things,” “My Dream Quinceañera”), that garner hundreds of millions of views. As a leading media brand, Awesomeness’ worldwide distribution footprint spans owned, social and premium SVOD platforms. Awesomeness is part of Paramount’s (Nasdaq: PARA, PARAA) global portfolio of multimedia entertainment brands and headquartered in Los Angeles, with additional offices in New York.
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“We saw how engaged the fans of the show were, and we’re really excited about not only the creative direction of the show [in season one], but the promise of the creative direction we’re aware of in the second season,” Shauna Phelan, executive vp and co-head of Nickelodeon and Awesomeness live-action series and films, told The Hollywood Reporter. “The audience responding to the show so positively and so passionately made it an easy call for us. We’re very excited to have the opportunity to make a second season.”
Added Zach Olin, Phelan’s fellow executive VP and co-head of Awesomeness and Nick live-action, “There was an incredible combination of voice that Megan and Nate brought to the project, in addition to their incredible handle on the mystery that they wanted to tell. It felt surprising on so many levels. It was just an enjoyable page turner right out of the gate.
School Spirits, based on the Trinrud siblings’ forthcoming graphic novel with Maria Nguyen, is one of several Paramount+ targeted at young adults, along with Wolf Pack, the update of iCarly and some of its adult animation projects. Though the YA market is littered with recent streaming casualties (Warrior Nun, The Wilds and The Society, to name a few), it has also spawned breakout hits like Netflix’s Outer Banks and Ginny & Georgia.
“In this environment, there’s so much choice across every audience, not just YA. So it’s probably harder than ever to aggregate an audience around any show at this point,” said Phelan. “I will say for a YA audience, though, when you get it right, this is the audience that will share and post and create fan communities and really spread the word for shows that they love.”
Per usual with streaming platforms, Paramount+ is keeping detailed viewing data for School Spirits under lock and key. Domenic DiMeglio, chief marketing officer and head of data for Paramount Streaming, told THR that “we were more than happy with the viewership we were able to drive for the series.”
In addition to a big social media push coordinated with the show’s stars (including List, who has 21 million Instagram followers), Paramount+ also marketed School Spirits on its own platform through other programming its core audience watches, from scripted series to sports. “I would also call out reality programming — the obvious ones, but also shows like Survivor do really well with younger audiences, so reality is a big ingredient. And then, especially when we think about the male skew of the YA audience, sports, especially soccer, including the UEFA Champions League, which has a massive under-35 audience. Halo also did really well with younger audiences.”
Olin and Phelan told THR that as Paramount+ continues to target YA audiences — including with Zoey 102, a movie sequel to the 2005-08 Nick show Zoey 101, and a Good Burger sequel — it will look for material that can “surprise the audience,” as Olin put it.
“I think the blueprint starts at creative strength,” said Olin. “I think if we are flooding the audience with YA content, it stops being surprising, and there will be some duplication. With our series and movies, it’s job number one for all of us [to figure out] how do we put out the things that are really going to excite the audiences.”
Said Phelan, “We start from a place of what we feel really passionate about, and then we really try and tell those stories authentically. I think we see a really strong response when we follow the guiding principles of our audience really wanting to see themselves authentically represented in our programming.”
Megan and Nate Trinrud executive produce School Spirits with Goldstick and Max Winkler, who directed the first two episodes. List is a producer on the series.
Nate Trinrud and Megan Trinrud are repped by CAA, Entertainment 360, FKKS and Inkwell. Goldstick is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, CAA & The Walerstein Group.
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Originally published: June 20, 2023 at 20:54 BST.
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