1 of 5 | Jennifer Tilly stars in “School Spirits.” Season 3 wrapped up Wednesday. Photo by Ed Araquel/Paramount+.
Chucky and Bullets Over Broadway icon Jennifer Tilly says the role of a scheming, unhinged headmistress in School Spirits Season 3 was right in her wheelhouse.
“It’s a very ‘cult’ series. It has a huge following and I have a very huge following from Chucky, which is also the same fan base as School Spirits. So, I was just so pleased to be able to give them a sort of little ‘valentine’ by appearing on this show that they love so much,” Tilly, 67, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview
“Also, I love the writing. I love this show. I just think it’s so beautifully shot. It’s very haunting and melancholy, especially Season 3. The music is fantastic and all the actors are so great.”
The supernatural series, which wrapped up its third season on Paramount+ Wednesday, follows the ghosts of people who died on the Split River High campus over the years, as well as Maddie (Peyton List) and Simon (Kristian Ventura), two empathetic, living students who have the power to communicate with them.
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“When they asked me to be on the show, I was ecstatic because I love the show and I got the script, and I was looking at Dr. Hunter-Price, and I thought, ‘There’s something slightly sinister about this woman,'” Tilly said.
“It seemed like she had an agenda, not that she just wanted to shut down the school, but that she REALLY wanted to shut down the school and, as the episodes progressed, you’ll see that she is more than a little evil and she’s working with dark forces to do things for her personal gain.”
Hunter-Price is also unkind to her teenage daughter Livia (Erika Swayze), a student at her school, who, in turn, terrorizes less popular kids.
“As you can see in Episode 1, she’s not a very good mother, so there’s lots to dislike about Dr. Hunter-Price,” Tilly said. “I think people will be very surprised at the trajectory of her character — to put it mildly.”
Desperate Housewives and 90210 alum Josh Zuckerman, 40, plays Mr. Martin, a dead teacher who doesn’t know what will happen to him and his ghostly family if Dr. Hunter-Price gets her wish to knock down the building they cannot leave.
Season 3 opened with Mr. Martin suffering in isolation because the others suspected he hurt one of them to save himself.
“He’s just trying to get through it and probably figure a way out or not lose his mind inside the scar, which is essentially just a nightmarish room,” Zuckerman said.
“It’s very tortuous for him to be haunted by all of his decisions and, specifically, what happened to Janet [Jess Gabor] and himself in the chemistry fire.”
It is eventually the living Simon who convinces the ghosts to give Mr. Martin another chance because he believes no one should be defined by their mistakes.
“Mr. Martin doesn’t have much of a relationship with Simon. Certainly, in the first two seasons, he’s aware of him as Maddie’s friend and then learns that Maddie can communicate with them,” Zuckerman said.
“But, beyond that, Simon’s alive and Mr. Martin has passed away, so they don’t interact, and now they’re put in a position where they can interact and Mr. Martin, in a way, has to earn his trust and probably hopes that Simon’s feelings about Mr. Martin aren’t going to be influenced by all the other students.”
Tilly said she is impressed by how the School Spirits mythology and character development have continued to be unexpected and emotionally rewarding.
“Whenever you’re reading a script, you’re thinking, ‘Where is this going?’ Then, you get the script for the next episode, and you’re like, ‘In a million years, I did not think it was going to go there,'” she said.
“But the writers really know what they’re doing and they plant little seeds and, so, you’ll have an idea of what’s going on with your character and then you’re really astonished at how the character blossoms and the things that transpire in later episodes.”
Zuckerman said fans tell him the main reasons the show resonates with them is that the characters are flawed but lovable and they look out for one another.
“They’re really trying to find answers, not just about what’s happening in the school, but to find answers about, ‘What is the meaning of life, even though I’ve passed away?'” Zuckerman said.
“It’s pretty touching,” he added. “They’re relying on each other to grow and navigate this scary unknown of the afterlife and the ‘life life.'”
Tilly said: “It’s very heart-warming to me to see how they’re all there for each other, especially since some of them don’t have great parental figures.
“When I was watching, I was like, ‘Wow, I wish I had a friend group like that!'” she said.
