We’re in the era of high school drama TV shows. Students have tragic home lives, bullies are misunderstood and drugs. So many drugs. All of this compiled into eight, 45-minute long episodes.

“School Spirits,” a new series on Paramount+, tells a different story: the main character unravels her own death while being a ghost.

Maddie, played by Peyton List, doesn’t remember how she died. She has to find the cause with the help of her new friends in the afterlife and try to communicate with the overworld.

Maddie finds a love interest in the jock ghost, Wally, played by Milo Manheim. Though their relationship hasn’t been fully developed, the blossoming is the cutest part. Their dates are adorable and I’m giddy just thinking about it.

The show has two plotlines to weave over eight episodes and I think the writers did a great job of balancing the comedic and dramatic scenes. 

The show’s best attribute is Maddie’s ghost friends. They’re overall funny and delightful, they made me laugh everytime and I smiled when they were on screen. 

The afterlife plot line also intrigued me the most. I felt the most hooked whenever the ghosts were on screen.

Not only does this show deal with the afterlife, but it delves into the topic of senior year and the passage of time in the real world.

Maddie and her two best friends were planning on going to Chicago together after high school, but her death halted that. It leaves the viewer wondering what the two friends will do without their third.

It puts into perspective how young people dying is so tragic. They have their whole lives ahead of them, but instead they’re taken away by death.

Knowing that there’s always the “what-if” with life and death, “School Spirits” tells us to live life to the fullest, whether you are alive or not.

Getting to see the hardships Maddie’s friends and family face throughout the series breaks my heart because they are all teetering on the edge of hopefulness and sadness. They don’t know Maddie’s dead and they are waiting for her to return.

“School Spirits” also shows that not everyone is a good person. Almost every character in this show has a flaw, maybe besides Maddie and the ghosts.

While watching, I didn’t know who could’ve killed her and I was shocked every time they found more evidence. When I finished the show, my jaw was on the floor; I was amazed at the level of mystery it kept.

I want more shows that keep you on the edge of your seat till the very last second. Not only does it drive up viewer watch time, but it also is a good form of storytelling.

“School Spirits” needs a season two. I can’t wait for my jaw to be on the floor again.