New photos of Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under, Psycho Beach Party) as the adult version of Vanessa “Van” Palmer in Showtime’s Yellowjackets have been released, via TV Line. News of her casting was first reported in August.
Yellowjackets season one debuted on November 14, 2021, and quickly rose to fame, becoming the second most-streamed series on Showtime. The Emmy-nominated series presents two timelines: one set in 1996, where a group of high school soccer players headed for Nationals are stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash; and, the other set twenty-something years later following the survivors as they are blackmailed about what they went through in the forest.
Liv Hewson (Dramaworld, Santa Clarita Diet) portrays the teen version of Van. Simone Kessel (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Reckoning), Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and Jason Ritter (Freddy v. Jason, Raise Your Voice) will also join season two as adult Lottie, a citizen detective, and an undisclosed role, respectively. Ritter is also Yellowjackets star Melanie Lynskey’s husband. Lynskey (Togetherness, Up in the Air) plays adult Shauna in the show and won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series in March.
Lynskey’s costars include Emmy nominee Christina Ricci (Casper, Buffalo ’66), Tawny Cypress (Brooklyn’s Finest, World Trade Center), and Oscar and Emmy nominee Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers, Cape Fear). The younger cast stars Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief, Pawn Sacrifice), Jasmin Savoy Brown (The Leftovers, For The People), Courtney Eaton (Gods of Egypt, Mad Max: Fury Road), and Samantha Hanratty (Shameless, Zoe Gone).
Following the show’s success, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy surprised fans with a season three renewal, months ahead of its sophomore season premiere. McCarthy’s decision marks the brand’s new strategy toward “making the biggest hits possible and building them into hit franchises,” according to Deadline.
The photos can be viewed at TV Line.
Yellowjackets season two will premiere on March 24, 2023 via the SHOWTIME app and will air on March 26, 2023 at 9 p.m. Eastern time on the network.
The trailer for season two is featured below.