It feels sort of wickedly fitting that Yellowjackets fans were left in the proverbial cold for a year after a huge cliffhanger in the Showtime series’ Season 2 finale. Although the wildly popular show quickly received a renewal, pre-production faltered when the Writer’s Guild of America strike began in May 2023 — causing fans to wonder when, exactly, we might find out WTF is going on with our favorite ill-fated soccer team. Well, Antler Queens, we finally (at long last!) have a release date.
On Nov. 19, the series’ official Instagram account posted an ominous reel cycling between a skull covered in yellowjackets with Jackie’s heart necklace hanging from the eye socket and violent clips of the girls in the wilderness. This seems to confirm that although the latter half of Season 2 focused on the present day and the team’s adult lives, this next chapter will reveal more details about what really went down before they were rescued.
If you’re ready to devour (heh) any and all details about what’s to come, keep reading.
When will Yellowjackets Season 3 premiere?
Don’t make any plans for Valentine’s Day — you’ve got a hot date with new Yellowjackets episodes. Season 3 drops on Feb. 14, 2025.
Also, according to series co-creator Ashley Lyle, Showtime will release a bonus episode sometime before Season 3 to whet viewers’ appetites.
What will Season 3 be about?
Warning: spoilers ahead!
Not surprisingly, Showtime is keeping details under wraps. To quickly recap, the series follows a group of women who played on the Yellowjackets soccer team in high school in 1996 — and spent 19 months in the wilderness when their plane crashed, stranding them somewhere in Canada. The show jumps between their past and present, showing viewers in slivers what the girls had to endure to survive and what the women must now reckon with 25 years later.
Since Season 2 ended with several cliffhangers, fans expect the dark coming-of-age series to start by addressing those unanswered questions. How will the girls fare in the wilderness now that Coach Ben (we think) burned down the survivors’ cabin? Will Coach Ben survive that betrayal? Will Misty and “Citizen Detective” Walter (Elijah Wood) get together? Could Van and Taissa rekindle their love all these years later? And, arguably most pressing, how will everyone (viewers included) cope with the death of one of Yellowjackets’ most defining characters?!
What we do know is that sh*t’s going to get even wilder from here. “Are we gonna get weirder? Probably! Will the fallout of *redacted*’s death affect our (anti)heroes in massive ways?” Lyle tweeted. “Will our girls’ struggle to survive against the elements (and themselves) get even down and dirtier? Do we still have to tell the story of Pit Girl? You betcha!”
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Lyle confirmed, “We are going to learn more about what happened in the wilderness that they are so afraid of coming out.”
Which cast members are coming back?
A huge part of Yellowjackets’ magic is its ensemble cast… but in a series where death is a reigning motif, how long can everyone stick around? So far, Christina Ricci and Melanie Lynskey, who scored Emmy nominations for their respective portrayals of adult Misty and adult Shauna, have both confirmed they’ll be returning for Season 3.
Most of the other “surviving” cast members are expected to return as well:
- Samantha Hanratty as teenage Misty
- Sophie Nélisse as teenage Shauna
- Sophie Thatcher as teenage Natalie
- Jasmin Savoy Brown as teenage Taissa
- Courtney Eaton as teenage Lottie
- Liv Hewson as teenage Van
- Kevin Alves as teenage Travis
- Steven Krueger as Coach Ben
- Tawny Cypress as adult Taissa
- Lauren Ambrose as adult Van
- Simone Kessell as adult Lottie
It’s also presumed that supporting characters who’ve been integral in the survivors’ lives will continue to have a presence. This includes Warren Kole and Sarah Desjardins as adult Shauna’s husband and daughter, and Wood as Misty’s musical-loving maybe-paramour Walter.
Tragically, it remains unclear if Juliette Lewis will return as adult Nat. While the Season 2 finale seemed to make it pretty clear that the character was killed off, there’s still the possibility she could maintain a presence via flashbacks.
One exciting potential newcomer is Lynskey’s husband, Jason Ritter, who is rumored to have filmed a cameo — but it’s unknown when it will air.
Is there a trailer?
No full trailer yet, but Showtime did release an intro reel with the Season 3 teaser photos that is sure to make fans downright ravenous for more. And if it gives you the same full-body chills you got when the show first came out, that tracks.
“I will say we see Season 3 as a little bit of a return to Season 1 in terms of the vibe,” Lyle told The Wrap. “All I will say is that the girls have been out there for a while, and they’re thriving.”
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