Submitted For The Approval Of The Midnight Society: The Cast Of 'Are You Afraid Of The Dark?' Then And Now (2025 Update)
The campfire of childhood nostalgia is officially reignited, and the stories of the Midnight Society are more relevant than ever as of late 2025. For a generation of '90s kids, the phrase "Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society" was the ultimate invitation to terror, turning Saturday nights into a must-watch ritual on Nickelodeon. The original cast of young Canadian actors who gathered around that flickering fire launched their careers into wildly different and fascinating directions, from starring in major Hollywood blockbusters and Netflix hits to becoming respected broadcast meteorologists.
This deep dive reveals the complete biographies and the most current projects of the original cast members, alongside the new generation of storytellers from the recent revival series, *Curse of the Shadows*. Prepare to catch up with Gary, Kiki, Sam, and the others, and see which stars are currently dominating the film and television landscape in 2025.
The Original Midnight Society: Full Cast Biography and Where They Are Now (1990-1996)
The core group of storytellers from the classic series, created by D. J. MacHale and Ned Kandel, laid the groundwork for the show's enduring legacy. Their post-show careers are a testament to their early talent, with several becoming household names in diverse fields.
Ross Hull (Gary)
- Role: Gary, the bespectacled leader and president of the Midnight Society, and the grandson of the original founder.
- Born: August 25, 1975 (Age 50 as of 2025).
- Post-AYAOTD Career: Hull famously left acting to pursue a career in meteorology, earning a degree in the field.
- 2025 Update: He is a well-known broadcast meteorologist for Global News in Canada, providing daily weather forecasts and climate analysis. His work remains highly current, with reports and forecasts frequently appearing on Canadian news channels as recently as June 2025.
- Key Entity: Global News Meteorologist.
Jodie Resther (Kiki)
- Role: Kiki, the resident "badass" known for her imaginative and often fiery stories, and her distinctive style, often featuring bandanas.
- Born: November 28, 1978 (Age 46 as of 2025).
- Post-AYAOTD Career: Resther transitioned into a successful dual career as an actress and a professional singer/songwriter. She is a talented vocalist, releasing albums in both English (R&B album *Real*) and French (*Ma Dualité*).
- 2025 Update: She continued her voice acting career, notably voicing the character Francine Frensky on the beloved animated series *Arthur* from 1996 until the show's conclusion in 2022. Her talent is still managed by a major agency, with her profile actively updated in 2025.
- Key Entity: Francine Frensky, R&B Singer.
JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Sam)
- Role: Sam, the character introduced in the third season who was often the romantic interest for Gary, and a strong storyteller in her own right.
- Born: August 10, 1979 (Age 46 as of 2025).
- Post-AYAOTD Career: JoAnna Garcia Swisher has one of the most visible post-show careers, starring in numerous hit television shows.
- 2025 Update: She is the lead actress, playing Maddie Townsend, in the highly popular Netflix series *Sweet Magnolias*, which is expected to return for a fifth season. Furthermore, she hosted the Netflix reality series *The Ultimatum: Queer Love* (2023) and has branched out into directing, helming two episodes of *Sweet Magnolias* Season 4.
- Key Entity: Sweet Magnolias, Maddie Townsend, The Ultimatum: Queer Love, Netflix.
Elisha Cuthbert (Megan)
- Role: Megan, the headstrong and cynical younger sister of Gary, introduced in the second incarnation of the show (1999-2000).
- Born: November 30, 1982 (Age 42 as of 2025).
- Post-AYAOTD Career: Cuthbert became a major Hollywood star, known for roles in *The Girl Next Door* and as Kim Bauer in the hit series *24*.
- 2025 Update: She continues to be an active actress, with her filmography showing a presence in the industry extending into 2025. From 2016 to 2020, she had a main role as Abby Phillips on the Netflix comedy *The Ranch*.
- Key Entity: 24, The Girl Next Door, The Ranch.
Daniel DeSanto (Tucker)
- Role: Tucker, Gary’s younger brother, often causing trouble and eventually becoming a member of the Midnight Society.
- Born: October 3, 1980 (Age 45 as of 2025).
- Post-AYAOTD Career: DeSanto is a prolific voice actor and on-screen actor.
- 2025 Update: He is best known in the voice acting world as the original voice of Carlos Ramon, the class skeptic, on the iconic animated series *The Magic School Bus* (1994–1997). He has continued to work in both film and television.
- Key Entity: Carlos Ramon, The Magic School Bus, Voice Actor.
Jason Alisharan (Frank)
- Role: Frank Moore, the tough-guy storyteller who was the first to leave the society.
- Post-AYAOTD Career: Alisharan stepped behind the camera, transitioning from acting to a successful career as a producer and filmmaker in Hollywood.
- 2025 Update: He has remained consistently involved in the film industry, with his work including the horror-drama *The Good Neighbor* (2010). Recent reports indicate he is working on a new film project titled *No! You're Wrong*, balancing his roles as a producer and writer.
- Key Entity: Film Producer, The Good Neighbor.
The New Generation: The Revival Cast (2019-2022) and Their Blockbuster Careers
The Nickelodeon revival series introduced a new group of teenagers to the Midnight Society, and they too have gone on to land major roles in some of the biggest franchises in modern media. The revival was split into two limited series: *The Carnival of Doom* (2019) and *Curse of the Shadows* (2021/2022).
Tamara Smart (Sam Masur)
- Revival Role: Sam Masur, the new leader of the Midnight Society in *The Carnival of Doom*.
- Born: June 14, 2005 (Age 20 as of 2025).
- 2025 Update: Smart’s career is skyrocketing. She is confirmed to join the cast of the live-action movie adaptation of the popular video game *Watch Dogs*. Even more significantly, she has been cast as the fan-favorite character Thalia Grace for the second season of the Disney+ series *Percy Jackson and the Olympians*.
- Key Entity: Watch Dogs Movie, Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Disney+.
Miya Cech (Akiko Yamato)
- Revival Role: Akiko Yamato, a member of the Midnight Society in the second revival series, *Curse of the Shadows*.
- Born: March 4, 2007 (Age 18 as of 2025).
- 2025 Update: Cech has landed a massive, highly anticipated role. She is confirmed to play Toph Beifong in the second season of the Netflix live-action adaptation of *Avatar: The Last Airbender*. This role places her at the center of one of the largest fantasy franchises currently in production, confirming her status as a major rising star.
- Key Entity: Toph Beifong, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Netflix.
Jeremy Ray Taylor (Graham Riley)
- Revival Role: Graham Riley, the new society’s resident skeptic in *The Carnival of Doom*.
- Born: June 2, 2003 (Age 22 as of 2025).
- Post-AYAOTD Career: Taylor was already known for his breakout role as Ben Hanscom in the film adaptations of Stephen King’s *It* (2017) and *It Chapter Two* (2019).
- 2025 Update: He has successfully branched out from horror, recently starring in the action-comedy film *London Calling* alongside Josh Duhamel, showcasing his versatility as an actor.
- Key Entity: Ben Hanscom, Stephen King's It, London Calling.
Lyliana Wray (Rachel Carpenter)
- Revival Role: Rachel Carpenter, the main protagonist of *Curse of the Shadows*.
- Born: c. 2005 (Age 20 as of 2025).
- 2025 Update: Wray continues to actively pursue challenging acting roles in Hollywood. Her involvement in new film projects, including one recently filming in New Mexico, suggests she is maintaining a strong career trajectory. There is even speculative buzz connecting her to a possible role in the highly anticipated *Top Gun 3* (2025).
- Key Entity: Curse of the Shadows, Top Gun 3.
The Enduring Legacy of Nickelodeon's Horror Anthology
The success of *Are You Afraid of the Dark?* is not just in the spooky tales it told, but in the launching pad it provided for young Canadian and American talent. The show’s production in Canada allowed it to tap into a rich pool of actors who would later dominate various aspects of the entertainment industry. The show itself is an entity, representing a golden age of children's programming that dared to be genuinely frightening, a concept often referred to as '90s horror or 'kid horror.'
The original Midnight Society members—including those with shorter tenures like Raine Pare-Coull (Betty Ann), who appears to have largely stepped away from the public eye since her acting days, and Daniel DeSanto—remain an iconic part of television history. While some, like Pare-Coull, have chosen a life outside the constant spotlight, others, like JoAnna Garcia Swisher and Elisha Cuthbert, have cemented their status as A-list television and film stars.
The 2019 and 2022 revivals demonstrate the lasting power of the franchise. By casting a new generation of highly talented actors like Tamara Smart and Miya Cech, who are now securing roles in major franchises like *Percy Jackson* and *Avatar*, Nickelodeon has ensured that the spirit of the Midnight Society—and the career-making potential of the show—lives on. The show's ability to evolve while maintaining its core theme of gathering around a campfire to share terrifying legends, like "The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner," is what keeps it a beloved cult classic.
Whether you're catching up with Ross Hull's weather forecast, streaming JoAnna Garcia Swisher's latest Netflix season, or anticipating Miya Cech's debut as Toph Beifong, the cast of *Are You Afraid of the Dark?* continues to surprise and entertain, proving that their real-life careers are just as compelling as the stories they submitted for our approval.
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