Yellowjackets is an American thriller drama television series created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson for Showtime. The series follows two primary storylines: the first involves a group of teenagers as they strive to survive in the wilderness after their plane crashes in 1996, while the second takes place 25 years later and focuses on the survivors' attempts to piece their lives back together. It stars a large ensemble cast led by Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, and Samantha Hanratty as the core teenage survivors, while Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci portray their adult counterparts.
The premise of the series was inspired by the Andes flight disaster and the Donner Party. Lyle and Nickerson wanted to explore some of the best and worst in humanity, with their concept informed by interpersonal dynamics in social hierarchies, preconceived notions of behavior, and how trauma can shape one's life. The duo pitched their story to over a dozen networks, receiving offers from five. A number of networks passed on it due to the darkness of the story with teenage protagonists and no IP attached. Showtime supported the creators' vision and acquired the rights in May 2018. The first season premiered on November 14, 2021, and the second on March 26, 2023. Production of the third season was halted due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes and premiered on February 16, 2025. In May 2025, the series was renewed for its fourth and final season, which is set to premiere on November 22, 2026.
Yellowjackets has received critical praise for its performances, mystery elements and exploration of the past and present timelines. Its accolades include 10 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for Lynskey and Ricci; three Writers Guild of America Award nominations; five Television Critics Association Award nominations, a Peabody Award nomination, and a Critics' Choice Award. Yellowjackets is the second-most streamed series in Showtime history, and its third season drew the series' highest viewership to date.
Premise In 1996, a high school girls' soccer team from fictional Wiskayok, New Jersey, travels to Seattle for a national championship tournament. While flying over Canada, their plane crashes deep in the wilderness, and the surviving team members are left stranded for nineteen months. The series chronicles their attempts to stay alive as some of the team members are driven to cannibalism. It also focuses on the lives of the survivors 25 years later in 2021, as the events of their ordeal continue to affect them many years after their rescue.
Cast and characters Key Main cast (actor receives "Starring" credit that season) Recurring cast (actor appears in three or more episodes that season) Guest cast (actor appears in one or two episodes that season) Actor Character Yellowjackets 1 2 3 4 Main characters Sophie Nélisse Shauna Sadecki (née Shipman) colspan="4" Melanie Lynskey colspan="4" Jasmin Savoy Brown Taissa Turner colspan="4" Tawny Cypress colspan="4" Samantha Hanratty Misty Quigley colspan="4" Christina Ricci colspan="4" Sophie Thatcher NatalieScatorccio colspan="4" Juliette Lewis colspan="2" colspan="2" Ella Purnell Jackie Taylor colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" Steven Krueger Ben Scott colspan="3" colspan="1" Warren Kole Jeff Sadecki colspan="4" Kevin Alves Travis Martinez colspan="1" colspan="3" Courtney Eaton Charlotte "Lottie"Matthews colspan="1" colspan="3" Simone Kessell colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" Liv Hewson Vanessa "Van"Palmer colspan="1" colspan="3" Lauren Ambrose colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" Sarah Desjardins Callie Sadecki colspan="2" colspan="2" Nia Sondaya Akilah colspan="3" colspan="1" Jenna Burgess Melissa colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" Portrayed by Keeya King in season 1 and Nia Sondaya in seasons 2 through 4. Main
Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse as the adult and teenage Shauna Sadecki, née Shipman, a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown as the adult and teenage Taissa Turner, a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Ella Purnell as Jackie Taylor (season 1; recurring seasons 2–3), the captain of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Christina Ricci and Samantha Hanratty as the adult and teenage Misty Quigley, the equipment manager of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Juliette Lewis (seasons 1–2) and Sophie Thatcher as the adult and teenage Natalie Scatorccio, a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Simone Kessell (seasons 2–3) and Courtney Eaton (seasons 2–4; recurring season 1) as the adult and teenage Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews, a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Lauren Ambrose (seasons 2–3) and Liv Hewson (seasons 2–4; recurring season 1) as the adult and teenage Vanessa "Van" Palmer, a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Steven Krueger as Ben Scott (seasons 1–3), the soccer team's assistant coach. Warren Kole as the adult Jeff Sadecki, Jackie's boyfriend and Shauna's husband. Jack DePew and Owen Gates portray teenage versions of Jeff as guests in seasons 1 and 2, respectively. Kevin Alves (seasons 2–4; recurring season 1) as the teenage Travis Martinez, Coach Martinez's eldest son and Javi's brother. Andres Soto portrays an adult Travis as a recurring guest in seasons 1 and 2 as a dead body and in flashbacks. Sarah Desjardins as Callie Sadecki (seasons 3–4; recurring seasons 1–2), Jeff and Shauna's daughter. Nia Sondaya (season 4; recurring seasons 2–3) as Akilah, a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Keeya King portrays Akilah in a recurring role in season 1 Jenna Burgess (season 4; recurring seasons 2–3) as the teenage version of Melissa, a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Hilary Swank portrays an adult Melissa as a special guest in season 3
Recurring
Jane Widdop as Laura Lee (season 1; guest season 2), a Christian member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Alexa Barajas as Mari Ibarra (seasons 1–3), a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Rekha Sharma as Jessica Roberts (season 1), a reporter investigating the survivors of the plane crash. Rukiya Bernard as Simone Abara, Taissa's wife and Sammy's mother. Luciano Leroux as Javi Martinez (seasons 1–2), Coach Martinez's youngest son and Travis's brother. Aiden Stoxx as Sammy Abara-Turner, Taissa and Simone's son. Mya Lowe (seasons 1–2) and Vanessa Prasad (season 3) as Gen, a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Peter Gadiot as Adam Martin (season 1), an artist who has an affair with Shauna. Alex Wyndham (seasons 1–2) as the adult Kevyn Tan. Charlie Wright and Sean Martin Savoy portray teenage versions of Kevyn as guests in seasons 1. Nicole Maines as Lisa (season 2–present), a follower of Lottie's. Nuha Jes Izman as Crystal (season 2), a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Elijah Wood as Walter Tattersall (season 2–present), a citizen detective who tries to help Misty. John Reynolds as Jay / Matt Saracusa (season 2), an undercover detective. François Arnaud as Paul (season 2), a New York writer and Coach Scott's secret boyfriend. Anisa Harris as Robin (season 3), a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Silvana Estifanos as Britt (season 3), a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. Ashley Sutton as Hannah Sophia Finch (season 3), a frog scientist. Molly Ringwald as Victoria Palmer (season 4), Van's mother, a recently recovered alcoholic. June Squibb (season 4)
Guest Gabrielle Rose as Mrs. Taylor (season 1), Jackie's mother. Carlos Sanz as Coach Bill Martinez (season 1), the head coach of the Yellowjackets soccer team and Travis and Javi's father. Tonya Cornelisse and Pearl Amanda Dickson as the adult and teenage versions of Allie Stevens (season 1), a member of the Yellowjackets soccer team. John Cameron Mitchell as Caligula (season 2), the human personification of Misty's pet parrot. Nelson Franklin as Edwin (season 3), a frog scientist. Joel McHale as Kodiak (season 3), a wilderness guide hired by Edwin and Hannah.
Episodes
Season 1 (2021–22)
Season 2 (2023)
Season 3 (2025)
Season 4
Production Development Series co-creators and co-showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, who are married, came up with the premise of the story after they talked about the 1993 film Alive, an adaptation of the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (1974) which documents the 1972 Andes flight disaster. They are both fascinated by the story of the Uruguayan team and the Donner Party, which served as a "jumping-off point" for their concept. Nickerson introduced the notion of a "what if?" and they expanded upon that, discussing various ideas about characters and story. They were working on the pitch for the story in 2017 when they read a report on a "gender swapped" film adaptation of the 1954 novel Lord of the Flies being developed and found that the reaction comments were "brutal, but in a way that I thought was just deeply incorrect", Lyle said; people rejected the idea that young girls could descend into the same barbarism as young boys, which "just added fuel to our fire, really, because we just thought we can prove [that notion] wrong".
Lyle and Nickerson's concept was a "metaphor for teenage hierarchy", wanting "to tell what felt like a very real story about teenage girls" and explore "the best and worst that human beings are capable of". Lyle said that girls "learn early on how to make people like [them] and what the social hierarchies are. It's a more interesting way of having things fall away. ... It's a more layered amount of preconceived notions of how to behave and act." They wanted the title of the show to be the name of the girls' team, and chose Yellowjackets after it came up on a Google search for sports team names, finding it a "perfect fit thematically" as yellowjackets are "very dependent on a queen and the dynamics of the hive are very specific ... it's a small creature with a large sting."
Lyle and Nickerson pitched the series with a 35-minute presentation to 16–17 networks. They received offers from five. They made a five-season pitch, not with the intent of needing exactly five seasons but to show "how expansive the show and the idea can be", that it was a multi-season story, it was "something that can sort of reinvent itself and change and shift", and that they knew what they wanted it to be and where it was going. Lyle said that a number of networks stated that it was a "big swing of an idea" with no IP attached. A challenge they faced when pitching was networks being "aware of their brands" and tending to place shows with teenage protagonists into a young adult box. Some networks saw the show differently from their concept. "Shows about teenagers or that feature teenagers with ambitions to be something other than a classic YA show tend to frighten people a little bit", Lyle noted. "They aren't something with a long track record."
Lyle said the smartest question she heard during the pre-production phase was from HBO's Francesca Orsi and David Levine, who asked, "What are you trying to say with this show?" In his answer, Nickerson said they intended to deconstruct the "organizing principles of a society". HBO was a contender to purchase the series but ultimately rejected it as they were developing Euphoria, which has teenage protagonists. Yellowjackets was sold to The Mark Gordon Company, a production company owned by Entertainment One. The project was then pitched to Gary Levine, president of entertainment for Showtime Networks, who was immediately on board. The creators said that Showtime supported "the darker and weirder qualities" of the story. On May 9, 2018, Showtime announced it had acquired the rights to the series.