Meet Paramount+’s ‘School Spirits’ Cast—and Here’s Why They Look Familiar

Just the other day, I was watching the trailer for the new horror movie, Longlegs, which premiered in theaters last month. As I watched the clip, I couldn’t help but wonder where I’d seen the main female character (who is played by Maika Monroe) before. A quick search revealed that I’d seen her in a movie before: 2014’s It Follows.

I had a similar experience while watching the Paramount+ Original series School Spirits. So, as a big fan of the show (which has since found a new home on Netflix), I’ve taken the liberty of compiling a list of the main cast members before season two (which has officially started production) premieres. Here, the School Spirits cast.

• Character: Xavier Baxter
• What Else He’s Been In: Degrassi, Astrid and Lilly Save the World, Reign

School Spirits fans may know him as Xavier Baxter, the angsty teenager who is mourning the loss of his girlfriend, Maddie Nears, while also being a prime suspect in her murder. But to me, Spencer MacPherson will always be Hunter Hollingsworth from Degrassi (and its spinoff, Degrassi: Next Class), a senior student who attends Degrassi Community School.

For MacPherson, playing Xavier in School Spirits has been his favorite role to date. “Sometimes you read and audition and the words just feel right in your mouth,” MacPherson told the Alternative Press back in March 2023. The 27-year-old continued, “When I first got the audition and the write up for the role, it said Xavier is the kind of guy who based his whole personality off of James Dean and Rebel Without a Cause, but he fell asleep five minutes into the movie.”

In addition to appearing in School Spirits and Degrassi, MacPherson has also starred in The CW’s Reign (2015 - 2017), American Gothic (2016) and Defiance (2015).

• Character: Rhonda
• What Else He’s Been In: Happy Death Day 2U, Single Parents, Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Sarah Yarkin plays Rhona in School Spirits, a ghost student who was killed by her guidance counselor, Mr. Manfredo, and she’s been wandering the halls of Split River High School since the 1970s. Back in August 2022, the UCLA School of Theater alum revealed to her Instagram followers that she would be starring in the Paramount+ Original series. 

Alongside a screenshot of a Deadline article with a headline that reads, “School Spirits: Paramount+ YA Drama Series Rounds Out Cast As Production Begins,” she wrote in the caption, “How bad u wanna see me stuck in the afterlife with my new hot friends tho [smirking face emoji]?” 

When Yarkin is not playing Rhonda in School Spirits, the 31-year-old actress is pursuing her next passion: singing. According to her Spotify page, the California native has released two EPS, Rosy Glasses (2022) and If Only I Could Shut Up (2023), and three singles titled “Boring” (2023), “You’re all Asleep” (2023) and “Little Bitch” (2022). 

Her previous acting credits include Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), Happy Death Day 2U (2019), Motherhood: For Salem (2020) and a recurring role on the ABC sitcom Single Parents.

• Character: Charley
• What Else He’s Been In: 13 Reasons Why, Dramarama, A Denied Dream

Before Nick Pugliese played Charley in School Spirits, the 27-year-old actor actually got his big break in another teen drama: 13 Reasons Why. After making his TV debut in the Netflix drama, which is based on the 2007 young adult novel written by Jay Asher, Pugliese went on to star in the 2020 coming-of-age dramedy, Dramarama. According to IMDb, the short comedy film follows a pair of roommates as they wait for the results of a pregnancy test. 

Back in September 2021, Pugliese took to Instagram to celebrate the release of Dramarama in theaters. Paired with a carousel of photos taken during production of the film, he wrote in the caption, “After a longggg festival circuit and limited theatrical release, @dramaramamovie is finally available everywhere for purchase!!! I love all these people very very much and we had so much fun making this so I hope you have fun watching.”

• Character: Claire Zolinski
• What Else He’s Been In: The Wilds, Terra Nova, The Bureau of Magical Things

Though Australian-born actress Rainbow Wedell plays Claire Zolinkski in School Spirits, a high school cheerleader who becomes a prime suspect in Maddie Nears’s disappearance, the 23-year-old actress couldn’t be more different than her character.

In March 2023, Wedell sat down with Screen Rant and shared what it was like playing Claire in School Spirits. Although Wedell said Claire is “definitely opposite to me,” she can’t help but sympathize with her character. She explained, “[Claire] has a lot on her plate, she's a go, go, go—that's very me. She definitely puts on a persona. I wear my heart on my sleeve, so I don't do that.” Wedell continued, “But being able to have all of these layers—I loved how multidimensional she was.”

• Character: Nicole Herrera
• What Else He’s Been In: Mother/Android, CODA, The Unholy

Believe it or not, Kiara Pichardo is no stranger to the teen drama world. Did you know that she also starred in the short-lived Netflix teen drama, The Society? She played the recurring role of Madison Russo.

In School Spirits, Pichardo plays Nicole Herrera, who just so happens to be one of Maddie Nears’s close friends. Back in March 2023, the actress sat down for an exclusive interview with ComingSoon alongside her School Spirits co-star, Kristian Ventura. 

While talking about the show, Pichardo shared what drew her to Nicole. At the time, she said, “When I first got the script for them, I resonated a lot with her, because in high school I did photography and I was artsy. Although I was kind of cool with everybody, I still had my little group of friends like Simon and Maddie. I just resonated with those aspects of her and how brave she was, too, and how much she fought for Maddie, her friend.”

When she is not acting on screen, she usually posts funny videos with her School Spirits castmates as well as her latest projects on Instagram. Most recently, Pichardo posted a teaser for a short film she starred in titled Principe Azul. Stephanie Bisono (who starred in, produced, directed and wrote the project) thanked Pichardo for being her scene partner in a heartfelt Instagram post.

• Character: Simon Elroy
• What Else He’s Been In: Reboot, Gray Matter, The Rookie: Feds

Kristian Ventura plays Simon Elroy, Maddie’s best friend who can also communicate with her in the afterlife. But apparently, auditioning for the role of Simon was far from easy. Back in January, Ventura told Screen Rant that the audition process for School Spirits was “so long and hard.”

He added, “When we were filming in Vancouver, the embarrassment would come from acting in front of the background actors because Peyton isn't there, and it looks like I'm an idiot. I'm just trying things, and you look so awful. There's that. Anytime a new director would come into a new episode and see me trying things, they didn't really expect how I work, because I just want to offer them so many different variations of what can be delivered.”

Outside of School Spirits, Ventura has also worked on lesser known projects such as Gray Matter and Grimcutty.