ShowtimeFans are eagerly awaiting Yellowjackets Season 3, Showtime’s teen drama series filled with lies, betrayal, and cannibalism. Good news: the release date is very soon.
Yellowjackets Season 2 finished in May 2023, and boy did it end in a blaze of glory… literally.
The binge-worthy TV show follows two separate timelines – one in the 1990s, another in the 2020s – centering around a high school girl’s soccer team who survive a catastrophic plane crash, left in the Canadian wilderness to try and survive.
If you haven’t watched the show yet, let’s just say things get very weird after this point. Four years on and it’s one of Showtime’s most popular hits. The wait for Yellowjackets Season 3 has been long, but thankfully it’s nearly over.
Yellowjackets Season 3 release date
The first two episodes of Yellowjackets Season 3 premiere Friday, February 14, 2025 for subscribers of Paramount+ with Showtime, as well as on demand. From there, new episodes will be released weekly.
The season debut will subsequently air on cable Sunday, February 16.
ShowtimeYellowjackets Season 3 cast
Key cast members Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, and Lauren Ambrose are all returning as adult Misty, Shauna, Taissa, and Van, while their teen counterparts – Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Liv Hewson – are also returning for Yellowjackets Season 3.
The news was confirmed by Vanity Fair in first-look images of the quartet at the end of October.
The complete list of confirmed cast members and characters for Season 3 includes:
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- Christina Ricci as adult Misty
- Melanie Lynskey as adult Shauna
- Tawny Cypress as adult Taissa
- Lauren Ambrose as adult Van
- Simone Kessell as adult Lottie
- Samantha Hanratty as teen Misty
- Sophie Nélisse as teen Shauna
- Jasmin Savoy Brown as teen Taissa
- Liv Hewson as teen Van
- Courtney Eaton as teen Lottie
- Sophie Thatcher as teen Nat
- Elijah Wood as Walter
- Warren Kole as Jeff
- Sarah Desjardins as Callie
- Steven Krueger as Ben
- Alexa Barajas as Mari
Additionally, there will be several new characters this time around. The Bear star Joel McHale has been cast in a guest role, while Hilary Swank will be joining as a recurring character. Even so, we’ve got no idea exactly who they will be.
What’s more, the official trailer for Yellowjackets Season 3 also confirmed that Ella Purnell will be back as Jackie once more. Purnell surprised fans in Season 2 by appearing in multiple flashbacks and hallucinations and it’s expected she’ll be doing the same for the new season.
However, one thing you’re probably wondering about is whether Juliette Lewis will be back as adult Natalie. Sadly, she’s excited the show, as per the ending of Season 2. In a September 2024 interview with Deadline, Lewis explained that she “very much knew” about her exit from the show.
Showtime“I think I’m good for a series for two seasons. It’s a different kind of work. So what do I want to say? I can’t wait to see the third season. I think the writing team is so phenomenal. They had many storylines that were always to be realized, and so that’s what they’re doing,” she told the outlet.
“For me, there’s so much in our industry with series that’s exciting, but in my creative DNA, I like moviemaking. It’s something I thoroughly understand with a single director, a finite period of time and knowing beginning, middle and an end. And I really relish those confines.”
It’s likely we also won’t be seeing Alex Wyndhamn as Detective Kevyn Tan after the events of Season 2, and the same goes for Luciano Leroux and Nuha Jes Izman as Javi and Kristen, due to their dark fates at the hands of the Wilderness – unless flashbacks/hallucinations are a factor.
Season 3 plot details
In Season 3, one thing’s for certain: secrets are going to get spilled. In the ’90s timeline, the Yellowjackets will continue to fight for survival after the brutal (and cannibalistic) winter in The Wilderness. In the present day, we’ll be thrust into the aftermath of Natalie’s death.
We know the Pit Girl scene is going to happen in a future season, so Season 3 may be about getting to that point. We’ve been in the Wilderness for around 10 months now, meaning there’s nine months left until rescue.
Showtime“I will say we see Season 3 as a little bit of a return to Season 1 in terms of the vibe. All I will say is that the girls have been out there [in the wilderness] for a while, and they’re thriving,” creator Ashley Lyle told The Wrap.
Star Christina Ricci added, “This season is going to be even more shocking and surprising than the previous seasons. It’s definitely going to be brutal. But they also put a lot of comedy into it. So, I think it’s just going to be… extremely Yellowjackets-y.”
While we don’t know specifics, Lyle has hinted that fans are about to see the two timelines converge into one.
“The two timelines always felt like the linchpin to the show for us,” she shared with Vanity Fair. “This season is really when we start bringing those pieces together. That was always the plan. It is very satisfying to have elements of this season that were planned from the very beginning.
“I cannot get into specifics, I wish I could, but there are a couple of big things in this season that were in the very initial pitches before we even took it out to networks, that we’ve finally got the chance to execute and to play out. The satisfaction of having something in your brains for that long and finally having it come to pass is very exciting.”
ShowtimeDirector Karyn Kusama also teased further exploration of the survivors’ re-introduction to the world in 1998 – something we only scratch the surface of in Season 2.
“I’ve been so excited by this,” she told Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast. “The concept of that immediate aftermath of re-entry into the world, to me, there’s a whole season worth of material there. And the fact that this is such a long game that each of these characters is facing, in terms of reorienting themselves to whatever normalcy is supposed to be.
“I’m sure we’re going to learn that their normal is a lot different than our normal… there’s a lot that needs to be figured out between Season 2 and Season 3.”
The creators have suggested Yellowjackets will run for five seasons – and we know the girls were in the wilderness for 19 months – meaning Season 3 will also see a weather change for the teen Yellowjackets.
What happened at the end of Season 2?
Season 2 sees Lottie’s ritual in the present day, which is then scrapped in favor of having her committed. Taissa and Van secretly call off the crisis team, but Misty tries to jab her with a lethal injection. Natalie takes the brunt of it, dying in Misty’s arms.
Season 3 details are still vague at this point, but there’s plenty of questions yet to answer… and lots of Season 2 problems need to be addressed.
In the modern day, there’s Taissa’s sleepwalking, her family, and her State Senator career. There’s Van’s terminal cancer and her relationship with Taissa.
Misty’s got a lot to deal with after Natalie’s death, though Walter will no doubt be there to help her. Considering how much murder there’s been in the present day, we can’t expect the Yellowjackets to avoid the law much longer. And while Lottie has been carted away, she could be back to wreak more havoc in the future.
As for the past, we still don’t fully know what happened with Javi when he disappeared, or who his “friend” was. We still don’t know the fate of Crystal’s body, or whether or not Coach Ben – who has abandoned the group – started the fire that burned the cabin down.
Speaking of the cabin, this lack of shelter may be what finally pushes the girls into full savage mode. Plus, Natalie has accepted her place as the leader of the Yellowjackets, with Lottie as their messenger.
Is there a trailer?
After months of anticipating, the official trailer for Yellowjackets Season 3 finally dropped on January 22, 2025.
As one should expect from the series, there’s plenty of hidden details in the footage, including secret messages, stabbings, and more. These questions will no doubt be answered when the new season drops, and thankfully the wait is nearly over.
Seasons 1-2 of Yellowjackets can be watched on Paramount Plus. While you wait for Season 3, catch up with more spooky telly like Stranger Things Season 5 and Wednesday Season 2. You can also check out more TV shows streaming this month and the 2025 shows to get excited about.
