According to Deadline, the seven-time Emmy-nominated hit series Yellowjackets has been renewed for third season months before the season two premiere. The announcement comes after Chris McCarthy, President and CEO of Paramount Media Networks, takes control of the Showtime network.
McCarthy has addressed the early renewal in a statement: “With Yellowjackets’ runaway success in Season 1 and the pent-up anticipation for Season 2, we wanted to maximize the momentum by fast-tracking Season 3 now. The show’s ambition is only exceeded by its execution, and I thank the incredible creative team behind it, including Ashley, Bart, Jonathan, eOne and the Showtime team, for turning this into such a success,” via Deadline. Additionally, his goal for the future of the platform is to make the “biggest hits possible and [build] them into hit franchises.”
Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, both writers for Narcos: Mexico and Narcos, serve as the show’s creators, executive producers, and showrunners. Jonathan Lisco (Jack & Bobby, Animal Kingdom) also executive produces and co-showruns the series. Drew Comins (All The Old Knives) from studio Creative Engine and eOne also play a part in the production of the show.
Yellowjackets was an instant hit, coming in second place for most-streamed series on Showtime, after Dexter: New Blood. It received a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and boasted over five million viewers per week. Melanie Lynskey (Togetherness, Up in the Air) who plays adult Shauna won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series this past March.
People describes the series as “part survival epic, part psychological horror and part coming-of-age drama, Yellowjackets chronicles four women bonded by a 1996 plane crash that stranded their high school soccer team in the brutal Canadian wilderness for 19 months. Not only does the show explore how the teens survived in the wild, but the narrative shifts between 1996 and 2021 as their adult counterparts are plagued by an anonymous stalker who blackmails them with the mysterious truth of what went down in the woods.”
An interview with Variety reveals that season two will be “winter-heavy.”
Season two welcomes actresses Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under, Psycho Beach Party) and Simone Kessel (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Reckoning), who will play the adult versions of Van and Lottie.
Yellowjackets will return for its second season on Friday, March 24, 2023, for Showtime subscribers and will also air on the network on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at 9 p.m. EST.
You can watch the trailer for season two on YouTube below.