Feature image of Yellowjackets season 2 cast member Nicole Maines by Jerod Harris / Stringer via Getty Images
We’re simply abuzz with excitement for Yellowjackets season 2, which comes out March 24! So soon! Here’s everything we know about it so far.
Yellowjackets Episode 201: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen”
The first episode of season two will be directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer (1995’s Party Girl!). Check out the photos from the episode:
More Yellowjackets Season 2 Photos
While the director lineup for the rest of the season hasn’t been announced yet, episode titles have been released through episode five:
- Episode 202: “Edible Complex”
- Episode 203: “Digestif”
- Episode 204: “Old Wounds”
- Episode 205: “Two Truths and a Lie”
Here are some more photos from season two:
Behind the Scenes of the Yellowjackets Set
And apparently it’s full of blood. In a new digital cover story, Entertainment Weekly delves into the upcoming season of Yellowjackets by visiting the set in Vancouver and speaking with some of the cast and the co-showrunners Jonathan Lisco and Ashley Lyle as well as co-creator Bart Nickerson. The description is perfectly macabre: “For one thing, there’s (fake) blood everywhere: in buckets, in Tupperware containers, in mugs, even on the hands of an actor who instinctively tries to shake yours before realizing.”
Lyle delights in the fact that the show has given viewers nightmares, and apparently even the cast isn’t safe from sweet dreams of cannibalism. Actors tell EW that they, too, have had nightmares during the filming process and also are largely kept in the dark about the show’s central mysteries. “They didn’t tell us anything,” Jasmin Savoy Brown tells EW. “So we all became our own citizen detectives, going to hair and makeup and wardrobe and getting whatever pieces we could.”
Liv Hewson didn’t even know Van was going to be attacked by a wolf last season until they were on set. “A crew member said to me, ‘You’re gonna have to do a makeup test for what the prosthetics will look like after the wolf attack,’” they tell EW. “And I was like, ‘After the what?’” Tawny Cypress, who recently came out in the horror documentary Queer for Fear, says she was told Taissa’s dog merely “ran away,” when fans know the truth about Biscuit…😬
Jasmin and Liv — who co-host the queer podcast The Homo Schedule together — are even in a group chat with fellow castmembers Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Nelisse, Courtney Eaton, and Sophie Thatcher where they share theories.
You’ll have to go to the Entertainment Weekly story to see some of the exclusive photos they snagged.
Everything We Know About the Plot of Yellowjackets Season 2
Season two will pick up two months after Jackie’s death, and Teen Nat and Teen Lottie will be at ideological odds in the season, according to the cover story. Teen Shauna will be pregnant, and Tawny Cypress says no babies will be eaten.
The season will likely be gruesome. “If we do our jobs right, the eating of a person will not be the most transgressive thing that these young women do in the wilderness,” co-showrunner Lisco told EW. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg.” After wrapping season two filming, new cast members Lauren Ambrose and Simone Kessell were still shaking off the intensity of it all, so it indeed sounds like we’re bound for an explosive season two.
Adult Misty will team up with fellow member of the Bureau of Citizen Detectives, Walter, who will be played by Elijah Wood.
Yellowjackets Season 2 Teaser Trailer Drops
After forcing fans to watch an Instagram live video of a candle melting for an hour, Showtime finally released a teaser trailer for season two of Yellowjackets in January, and we had fun overanalyzing it!
Nicole Maines Joins the Cast
Nicole Maines — of Supergirl fame — has been added to the stacked season two cast of Yellowjackets. There aren’t a ton of details on her character yet, but she will be named Lisa and is a close associate of Adult Lottie. Truth Be Told‘s Nia Sondaya is also joining the cast, replacing Keeya King as Teen Akilah. This does feel particularly relevant to our interests, as Sondaya starred in the Sapphic short film Heart Shot. Will Akilah join the growing ranks of queer cannibals (qannibals? I’m workshopping here)? WE SHALL SEE. And François Arnaud has been cast as Paul, adorable Coach Scott’s secret bf.
Yellowjackets Season 3 Has Already Been Announced!
Even though we’re still not-so-patiently waiting for Season 2 to drop, we’re in for a treat! Showtime has already renewed the series for a third season. We can rest assured that there’s more cannibalism in our future! Words I love to hear! As a reminder, the creators claim to have a five-season plan for the series. Let’s hope they get to see their vision through to the finish line! I trust these writers with my LIFE!
Yellowjackets Season 2 Will Premiere on March 24!
According to an official new teaser from Showtime, Yellowjackets will return at last on March 24, 2023. I have already added it to my two Gcals, my physical planner, EVERY CALENDAR IN MY HOUSEHOLD. It’s about to be a very cannibal-y spring!
The teaser doesn’t provide much other than the date, a little American Horror Story-esque in its privileging of random haunting images over actual story or character details. But I prefer when Yellowjackets holds its cards close to its chest, so I will accept this vague, vibes-only teaser enthusiastically.
You won’t be hungry much longer. March 24 2023. #Yellowjackets pic.twitter.com/1Ft8Qs4Ci7
— Yellowjackets (@yellowjackets96) December 7, 2022
Yellowjackets Season 2 Will Be Even More Graphic
From its opening sequence, Yellowjackets has never really been for the faint of heart, but cast members revealed in a recent panel that things are about to get even more gruesome. “There’s scenes in Season 2 that are graphic, to say the least, and I remember just doing it, and [the cast] all sat and looked at each other, and we were like ‘What the fuck are we doing. Like, literally, what the fuck are we doing,” said Sophie Nélisse (Teen Shauna), according to Variety. “You’ll look at it, and you’ll understand, but I don’t think you’ve ever seen such a scene in TV before.”
Tawny Cypress (Adult Taissa), who recently opened up about her queerness in Shudder’s Queer for Fear documentary, also teased that we will be seeing more of Taissa’s alter ego.
The first two episodes are set to be directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer, who directed season one’s “Doomcoming.”
Yellowjackets Season 2 Production Has Begun!
According to the official Yellowjackets Instagram, Season 2 started production in August. Following the Season One finale, the Yellowjackets team said they were aiming for a 2022 release for Season Two, but if the show just entered production and began filming, my guess is we’re not getting any sweet, sweet new cannibal content until early 2023 — at the earliest.
Samantha Hanratty, who plays Young Misty, also posted about being back on set.
Simone Kessel Will Play Adult Lottie in Yellowjackets Season 2 and Courtney Eaton Has Been Promoted to Regular
Good news, Lottie heads! Adult Lottie is apparently alive and will be played by Simone Kessel, whose recent television credits include Our Flag Means Death and Obi-Wan Kenobi. I’m personally thrilled to see this casting choice as Kessel is Māori like Courtney Eaton. Also, Eaton will be a series regular! Lots of Lottie for all!
Now, I know some people have been mixed about casting announcements for Yellowjackets Season 2 that double as spoilers, but it doesn’t bother me. Yes, the show cultivates suspense and mystery, but I wrote about a billion times in my recaps that I’m not really interested in it being a puzzle box of a show. But I digress! Anyway, seems like a nice time to catch up on or revisit my recaps of Season One.
Lauren Ambrose Will Play Adult Van in Yellowjackets Season 2 and Liv Hewson Has Been Promoted to Regular
Six Feet Under legend Lauren Ambrose signed on for Yellowjackets Season 2 as Adult Van. Meanwhile, the lovely Liv Hewson was also upped to regular. Adult Van is presumably alive in the present, so why has Adult Taissa never said a word about her? Was the breakup bad? I mean, the relationship itself has been marked by wolf attacks and other assorted horrors, so I think it’s safe to assume the breakup was bad.
Elijah Wood Will Play a Citizen Detective in Yellowjackets Season 2
The casting team for Yellowjackets is truly committed to the bit of casting 90s icons. Elijah Wood is set to play someone named “Walter, Citizen Detective,” and I for one can’t wait for Wood and Christina Ricci to go toe-to-toe in scenes together.