School Spirits: Everything we know (and do not know) about Janet

Although season one of School Spirits ended on a major cliffhanger, we do finally have some details surrounding the whole ‘Janet’ mystery.

The first season of Paramount+’s newest teen drama School Spirits has been all about the questions.

But, between Maddie’s still-alive friends wondering what exactly happened to her, her new already-dead spirit friends wondering how they can all cross over, and even Maddie trying to find answers about how exactly she died (and who exactly killed her) – there is one mystery that has captured the imaginations of School Spirit’s fans and characters, alike. Namely, what happened to Janet?

The Janet mystery explained (sort of)

Fair warning that delving deeper into any aspect of Janet’s story on School Spirits will inevitably spoil a few major plot points for the end of season one, so make sure that you watch through the entirety of season one, before you continue reading.

If you have been following along since the very first episode of School Spirits, then you will already know that Janet’s story is just as much of a mystery to the other school spirits as it is to viewers.

And, up until Dawn crossed over, the only thing that anyone (outside of Mr. Martin) knew about Janet was that she presumably crossed over.

However, the season one finale episode added quite the big puzzle piece to this ever-increasingly complicated mystery, when it revealed that Janet had, in fact, not crossed over – and had, instead, taken over Maddie’s body, which is what left her spirit trapped at the school.

And, as an added mind-bending bonus, Janet (who is now in full control of Maddie’s body) is actually the thief who has been breaking into homes around the neighborhood (and has even been involved in a hit-and-run accident) all season long.

The other members of the School Spirits cast

Whilst the mysterious disappearance has been milling around the minds of most School Spirits fans ever since that first support meeting, we never really saw Janet on screen until episode eight.

In fact, most of what we know (and wonder) about Janet, is really down to the acting of the rest of the talented School Spirits cast, which includes (but is not limited to):

Who plays Janet in the series?

Up until the season one finale of School Spirits, we never actually got to see Janet on the screen and then in the finale, we really only see a shadowy flash of Janet, before she takes over Maddie’s body. As a result, there is not even so much as an end-credit for Janet’s character.

However, since we can assume that ‘Janet’ is not going to be giving up Maddie’s body easily in the next season, we will probably get to see Peyton List doing double-duty as both Maddie’s spirit and her body (which is technically Janet) next season.

List is, of course, most well-known for her role in Disney shows like Jessie, Austin & Ally and K.C. Undercover, but she has also appeared in shows like Cobra Kai, Light as a Feather, and films like A Little White Lie (2023) and Swimming for Gold (2020).

What were Mr. Martin and Janet fighting about before Maddie opened the door?

Even though the season one finale finally gave us some answers about the whole ‘Janet mystery’, it has also left us with a few new questions.

And, perhaps the most pressing of these questions, is about what happened between Mr. Martin and Janet, just before Maddie opened that door.

Mr. Martin’s character has been looking more and more dubious as the first season has progressed.

And, since we were only privy to a few mumbled bits of their last fight, there is really just no telling at this point about what really happened in that fire, about whether Mr. Martin knew that the spirits could take possession of other bodies so easily, or about what really drove Janet to running away.

School Spirits’ other unanswered questions

If you though that finally finding out the truth about how Maddie died, and about what really happened to Janet, all within the span of a few minutes, would leave School Spirits with no plot for its second season – think again.

Paramount+ has already renewed the show for its second season, and while we do not have many concrete details about this new season just yet, we are hoping that it will include a few answers.

This includes answers about whether Xavier (Spencer MacPherson) will be joining the second season as a new spirit. And, answers for how Maddie will go about convincing Simon (Kristian Flores) that she is real.