It’s been almost 18 months since we were last tossed back and forth between the dual timelines of twisted survivalist teenagers and their equally disturbed adult counterparts in Showtime’s Yellowjackets. Now, we only have to wait a few more months before diving back into teen cannibalism and grown-up traumas, as it was announced today that the show’s third season will commence on February 14, 2025.
The series follows a group of high school girls who survive a plane crash that strands them in the wilderness, and whose moral compasses slowly bend to allow whatever ensures survival—even if that means violent, drug-infused orgies, eating a dead teammate, or watching another teammate explode mid-air after attempting to fly a plane to get help. The show alternates between that grim reality and the future lives of some of those girls, 25 years later, as they struggle to reconcile what happened in the wilderness and how it continues to haunt them. With an incredible cast including Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress, Lauren Ambrose, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sophie Thatcher, the show was a breakout hit when it debuted in late 2021.
Season two was a bit disappointing, primarily because the two timelines weren’t always aligned in severity. While the teen timeline depicted harrowing events like a stillborn birth, the first death in their group, and their only shelter burning to the ground, the adult timeline leaned too heavily on a demented cult led by adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) and adult Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) dodging an investigation into her first-season murder of her extramarital fling—an arc that predictably goes nowhere. The show is at its best when all the main characters are confronting their issues together, but the second season spent far too long reuniting the adult timeline’s “gang.”
By the looks of the Season 3 promo photos, the new season may address this issue. The images depict the adult and teen versions of each main character together—some embracing, others standing as though unaware of one another, and some exchanging glances. Not only does Yellowjackets co-creator Ashley Lyle tell Vanity Fair that these photos hint at character-specific overlaps of timelines in the new season, but she also reveals, “We are going to learn more about what happened in the wilderness that [the adults] are so afraid of coming out.”
The teaser trailer released today also shows glimpses of the third season’s mayhem. We see what appears to be a few of the teens dressed in animal fur, choking and threatening each other, along with teen Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) once again yelling her heart out into the void. With their cabin being burned down in the middle of winter at the end of the second season, it appears life as scavengers is turning the girls mad.
Cuddle up with your valentine this February. We’re going deeper into Yellowjackets mania.
