We are first introduced to the characters ofYellowjacketsas a 1996 high school soccer team on their way to Seattle with their coach, assistant coach, and the coach’s two sons, who then become stranded in the Canadian wilderness when their plane crashes. The survivors of the crash are forced to survive in the brutal climate for 19 months, with many perishing, and the rest resorting to cannibalism. The show isloosely inspired by the true story of the 1972 Andes Flight Disaster, in which a plane carrying 45 passengers, including the Uruguayan Rugby team, their families and friends, and the flight crew, crash-landed in the Andes Mountains. The survivors were lost for 72 days, during which many of the remaining survivors of the crash suffered hypothermia and starvation. They were also tragically driven to cannibalism to stay alive until the remaining 14 survivors were finally rescued. That story has also been made into a2023 survival drama, calledSociety of the Snow.

Yellowjacketsnot only covers the events leading up to the crash and the aftermath, but it jumps forward in time to see how the survivors continue to deal with the consequences, guilt, and grief 25 years later as adults in 2021. The series premiered on Showtime on August 01, 2025, and had 10 episodes. It received 7 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama and several acting nominations. A month after the series premiere, the show was renewed for a second season, which aired on August 10, 2025, with 9 episodes. Although the second season answered many questions left over from the first, it also opened many more questions about what happened when the team was stuck in the wilderness as well as how the survivors are dealing with their current-day consequences. If you’re craving more details, read on to find out what the third season ofYellowjacketshas in store!

Sophie Thatcher as Teen Natalie, Jenna Burgess as Teen Melissa, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Teen Taissa, Sophie Nélisse as Teen Shauna, Anisa Harris as Teen Robin, Liv Hewson as Teen Van in Yellowjackets Season 3

7Does ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3 Have a Release Date?

Yes! The third season ofYellowjacketswill premiere on Friday, August 16, 2025. The series can be watched through Paramount+ with Showtime. There will be 10 episodes this season, with the first two episodes released on February 14 and theremaining episodes released weekly. It’s a perfect show to watch for a Valentine’s Day date!

Watch on Paramount+

6Can I Watch ‘Yellowjackets’ Without Paramout+?

You can access Paramount+ as an add-on for other platforms like Hulu or Amazon Video and broadcast on Showtime two days later.

Watch on Prime Video

5Is There A Trailer For ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3?

Absolutely! The new trailer was just released recently, teasing new conflicts, more details surrounding the girls’ descent into madness while they were stranded in the woods, and how far the adult versions of the survivors are willing to go to keep their secrets hidden. You can watch the trailer below!

4What To Expect From The ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3 Plot

As you may see in the trailer, there are many loose ends and questions that viewers were left with at the end of the second season. Some of the adult versions of the characters have died, opening the door for new characters to emerge in the new season who are tied to the tragic story. This season will also show the more animalistic side of the teenage girls as they fall deeper intodesperation and tribalism to survive the wilderness. The previous season was just the tip of the iceberg regarding the absolute savagery that shaped the girls into the women they are today.

The first season focused on the devastation and tragedy of the crash and the initial aftermath, focusing on the battle between optimism, pessimism, desperation, and survivalism. It also showed how guarded and wary the survivors are as adults, willing to do anything to keep their past a secret from friends, family, and the public. The second season delved further into how the reality of the situation sinks in for the remaining survivors as the weather gets colder and more brutal, with no rescue in sight. The girls become agitated, aggressive, and increasingly paranoid as the hunger sinks in and the days grow colder and shorter. In the modern-day version of the survivors, the show focuses on how they arecoping in drastically different ways. Drugs and alcohol, cult-like religion, complete suppression, etc. No matter how they attempt to avoid or understand what happened while they were stuck in the wilderness, the truth still finds a way to bubble to the surface. It’s a truth that some will kill to keep buried.

A promotional poster for ‘Yellowjackets’ featuring Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, Sophie Nelisse and Jasmin Savoy Brown

3Who’s In the Cast of ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3?

In a series that jumps back and forth between the past and present, two different actors portray the younger and older versions of the characters. The main players in the series includeMelanie Lynskey(Togetherness) as the adult version of Shauna. Lynskey received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She also showed the more brutal side of her acting abilities in thefirst season ofThe Last of Us, as Kathleen Coughlan in the two Kansas City episodes, for which she also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. The teenage version of Shauna is portrayed bySophie Nélisse(The Rest of Us).Christina Ricci(Wednesday) also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as adult Misty inYellowjackets. The younger version of Misty is portrayed bySamantha Hanratty(Shameless). Adult Taissa is played byTawny Cypress(Brooklyn’s Finest) and the teenage Taissa is portrayed byJasmin Savoy Brown, who starred in the recentScreamandScream VIfilms as Mindy Meeks-Martin. She will return to the role in theupcoming addition to the franchise,Scream 7.

Fallout’sElla Purnellportrays Jackie Taylor, who dies as a teenager in the first season due to hypothermia and subsequently becomes the first to be cannibalized. She makes several appearances as a ghost/hallucination that haunts the survivors throughout the series.Steven Kreuger(Goosebumps) is Assistant Coach Ben, another character that viewers don’t see in the “present-day” side of the series. Although he is still alive at the end of the second season, his character doesn’t look too bright.

Melanie Lynskey as Shauna and Sophie Nélisse as Teen Shauna in Yellowjackets Season 3

Warren Kole(Shades of Blue) plays the adult version of Jeff Sadecki, originally the boyfriend of Jackie as a teenager. He ends up marrying Shauna, whom he cheated on Jackie with before the fateful plane crash.Sophie Thatcher, who hasrecently achieved “Scream Queen” statuswith roles likeStephen King’sThe Boogeymanadaptation, A24’sHeretic, and most recentlyCompanion, plays the role of young Natalie “Nat” Scatorccio. The adult version of Nat is portrayed byJuliette Lewis(Opus), but her character meets a tragic end in the finale of the second season. It’s unclear if Juliette Lewis will return in the third season in flashback sequences, dreams, or hallucinations as a surprise, but as of now, she is not listed in the cast for the new season.

Simone Kessell(Obi-Wan Kenobi) made her first appearance in the series in the second season as the adult version of Charlotte “Lottie” Matthews, a guru who operates a cult-like retreat. The younger version of Lottie is portrayed byCourtney Eaton(Mad Max: Fury Road) and is shown to require medication for schizophrenia. Additionally,Servant’sLauren Ambrosefirst appears inYellowjacketsin the second season as the adult version of Vanessa “Van” Palmer, who still bears facial scarring from the wolf attack she suffered as a teen in the wilderness. The young version of Van is portrayed byLiv Hewson, who had roles inSanta Clarita Diet,Bombshell, andBefore I Fall. Another newcomer in the second season isElijah Wood, who is known best for portraying acertain Hobbit who has to carry a certain ring to a certain location… joins the cast as Walter. Walter is an amateur sleuth who meets Misty online and joins in person when Nat goes missing.Kevin Alves(Locke & Key) portrays Travis, the teenage son of the Coach who survived the crash, andSarah Desjardins(Riverdale) plays Callie, the teenage daughter of Jeff and Shauna in the present.New to the series includesHilary Swank(The Hunt) andJoel McHale(Community) in undisclosed roles.

ashley-lyle-bart-nickerson-yellowjackets

2Who Are The Creators of ‘Yellowjackets’?

Yellowjacketswas created byhusband and wife duo,Ashley LyleandBart Nickerson, who previously worked together writing and producingNarcosandNarcos: Mexico. For this series, they served as writers and executive producers, with Nickerson directing the season premiere episode for the third season.The executive producing the series areJonathan Lisco(Animal Kingdom), andSarah L. Thompson(How to Get Away With Murder).

1Where Was ‘Yellowjackets’ Filmed?

The pilot for the show was filmed in LA, California, before the plane crashed into the Canadian wilderness. The subsequent scenes are appropriately filmed in various locations, including studio locations, in British Columbia, Canada.

Yellowjackets