Everything We Know About 'Yellowjackets' Season 2

Over the course of airing weekly in fall 2021 and winter 2022, Showtime's Yellowjackets undeniably became one of the biggest, new sensations on TV. The series from Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, now nominated for seven Emmys including Outstanding Drama Series, about a high school girls' soccer team fighting to stay alive in the wilderness after their plane goes down, and the effects their time in the woods has on the survivors in present day, gained critical acclaim and a devout following with its incredible cast and many intriguing mysteries.

Although it was filled with twists throughout, few compared to the shocking bombshells dropped in the Season 1 finale, which aired in January 2022. Whether you watched it live or have since caught onto the buzz and binged the series, you're likely left with dozens of questions and eager for more. To help ease the hunger for more Yellowjackets, breaking down everything we know about the series going forward.

Hell yeah. In December 2021 The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Showtime ordered a second installment of Yellowjackets before the first season had even wrapped up. It definitely makes sense the show is coming back, considering how much critical acclaim the show's gained and what a runaway success it was for Showtime. Plus, with that cliffhanger finale—some TV execs would've found themselves in the Antler Queen's pit if fans didn't get answers. Kidding, obviously!

In June 2022, the showrunners confirmed to Variety in a video interview that they've been in the writers room for awhile and that Yellowjackets Season 2 would officially begin production in late August. If you're worried that means we won't get to see more of what's up with the winter timeline in the past, don't be. The showrunners stressed in a different Variety interview that they're gearing up to use some "movie magic" to make that frigid, snowy weather possible during their summer shoot. 

With the show resuming production this summer, fingers crossed that means we get more episodes in late 2022, going into winter 2023—just like how Season 1 aired. That definitely seems like what the series and Showtime are aiming for, as Showtime Networks president of entertainment Gary Levine previously told Vulture in an interview that the network was hoping for a premiere date "at the end of 2022." Plus, that would make for one eerie winter watch!

An official episode count hasn't been announced yet, but it seems reasonable to guess that there will be 10 new episodes, just like Season 1. In an IndieWire interview following her Emmy nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Drama, Melanie Lynskey mentioned that the show's writers had finished everything up to Episode 7 and implied there was a little more to go. So, yeah, it definitely seems like fans can count on the same number of installments. 

Season 1 saw a couple casualties, but all of our remaining, favorite feral women should be back for Season 2. Expect to see more of the incredible adult cast led by Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, and Tawny Cypress as Shauna, Misty, Natalie, and Taissa, as well as their younger counterparts played by Sophie Nélisse, Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, and Jasmin Savoy Brown. Their families in the contemporary timeline played by Warren Kole, Sarah Desjardins, Rukiya Bernard, and Aiden Stoxx should return as well.

In the past, we'll probably see even more of Courtney Eaton as Lottie, now that we know she's at the helm of the let's eat each other movement. With Liv Hewson's Van seeming like one of Lottie's main followers, expect her to come into the fold even more, too. We obviously know Travis came out of the woods alive, so his teenage version played by Kevin Alves should return, as should Coach Ben Scott (Steven Krueger), Akilah (Keeya King), Mari (​​Alexa Barajas), and hopefully Javi (Luciano Leroux), even though he was missing in the Season 1 finale. None of them have died or been eaten… yet. (Yikes.)

It has been confirmed that Rekha Sharma's fixer/reporter character Jessica is dead—thanks(?) to Misty and her sneaky, lethally laced cigarette—so she won't be back. The same goes for Adam (Peter Gadiot), who, despite all of the wild theories about his identity, was likely just some guy. Although some beloved Yellowjackets teammates may also be deceased, it is very likely we'll see a bit more of them. The showrunners have alluded to still showing characters like Jackie and Laura Lee, played by Ella Purnell and Jane Widdop, even calling it a "definite possibility." In a show with multiple timelines, there's always room for more flashbacks!

While no new cast members are confirmed, we do know that we'll be meeting the adult version of the Antler Queen herself, Lottie. And she's not the only living Yellowjacket we haven't met yet: The show's creators, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, confirmed to Thrillist that even more grown-up survivors will be introduced in the new season. It's unclear who else made it out alive, but it seems possible that we could also meet an adult Van. In a June 2022 Variety video interview, the interviewer asked the showrunners when fans can expect the casting news of Lottie and, as she guessed, Van would be announced. While they were hesitant to give anything away, Lyle and Nickerson said we can expect to hear who's been cast very soon. It sounds like they've had an idea for a long while of who they'd like to play Lottie. In the meantime, start imagining which '90s stars you think would be perfect for the role.

Aside from the surviving Yellowjackets, it also seems likely that we'll meet new characters entirely, like members of Lottie's cult. We could also get introduced to some nosy investigators or Adam (Peter Gadiot) and Jessica Roberts' (Rekha Sharma) family members, now that Misty, Shauna, Taissa, and Natalie have blood on their hands and two missing people connected to them.

With all of that gore, teases of cannibalism, and wild twists in Season 1, you might've thought Yellowjackets was dark enough. But, apparently, Season 2 is about to somehow "get darker and get weirder," as co-creator Ashley Lyle said to Deadline. It sounds like that's because the show is about to get the '96 timeline to the survivors in their woodsy, feral cannibal phase. (According to Variety, the showrunners and writers have dubbed this season "The Winter of Their Discontent," named after the famous line from Shakespeare's Richard III.) That, and in present day, we're bound to find out what Lottie and her cult, revealed in the last moments of the Season 1 finale, are up to.

In the past, it seems as though Jackie's death might be a turning point for the teens. It was a tragic loss for many of them—Shauna, in particular—which could push them to emotional extremes we haven't seen yet as they continue to survive. As the finale revealed, Lottie seemingly anointed herself as a leader and developed a taste for human flesh shortly after Jackie's death. So, squeamish beware: The cannibalism is coming. There might be even more body horror, too, as the showrunners confirmed in an interview with Variety that Season 2 will answer questions surrounding Shauna's pregnancy and what happened to her baby. And they were definitely hesitant to give an answer, but they also shared that we'll learn more about the man who lived in the cabin and the meaning of the mysterious symbol. 

As for the present, buckle up for a whole new mystery, largely centered on Lottie's cult. The co-creators told Thrillist that we'll definitely meet adult Lottie, as the show is about to explore how her brutal time in the woods has stuck with her. Bart Nickerson said, "We've met characters so far in the present day that, for a variety of reasons, have tried to hold many of those experiences at a distance—and Lottie is probably the character that was the least able to do that in her life after coming home."

There are certainly a lot of questions surrounding her cult's intentions, from why they kidnapped Natalie to Travis' murder, so expect a feast of twists to devour. It should be especially interesting learning more about Travis' murder, as Nickerson told us that he couldn't necessarily confirm Lottie actually wanted him dead. So, perhaps her cult has gotten out of hand.

While nothing is confirmed, it might be up to Natalie's frenemy Misty to get her home safely. In an interview with Deadline following her Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, Christina Ricci said she expects her character's "citizen detective" skills to come into play even more so in Season 2, with all of the new mysteries unfolding. "I would love to see [Misty] trying to solve the mystery of where Juliette [Lewis]'s been taken," she said. "What's going on in that crazy basement [with that] alter, dog head thing? I just really feel like I'd like to see her solve those crimes—and commit other crimes, along the way." While she explained she ultimately has "no concrete information" about the upcoming season, her predictions sound about right. 

With so few confirmed details, it's not totally clear where Yellowjackets is headed. We'll continue to update this post as more information is announced. In the meantime, hit up the Reddit theory threads and check out these books, shows, and movies for more Yellowjackets-esque stories to hold you over.

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