Yellowjackets has been killing off its adult cast since the very first season, but they kicked things up a notch with four major deaths in Season 3. Those deaths won’t go unaddressed. Yellowjackets has been renewed for Season 4.
The May 20 renewal comes over a month after the Season 3 finale that came out on April 11 on Paramount+ With Showtime and April 13 on Showtime. The finale was the show’s most-watched episode ever, according to Paramount+, and Season 3 was also the most-watched season to date. On social, Season 3 stands as the most-engaged season ever for the show.
“Yellowjackets has become a cultural juggernaut, with Season 3 shattering all previous records – we are thrilled to announce its renewal for a season four on Paramount+,” said Chris McCarthy, Co-CEO of Paramount Global and President of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios. “[Showrunners] Ashley [Lyle] and Bart [Nickerson] have masterfully crafted an utterly singular, genre-defying phenomenon — a perfect alchemy of psychological horror, survival thriller, and coming-of-age drama that continues to captivate audiences worldwide, brought to life by our extraordinarily talented and beloved cast.”
Here’s what we know about Yellowjackets‘ future.
When does Yellowjackets Season 4 premiere?
Paramount did not share when Season 4 will begin production in its renewal announcement on May 20. Season 2 premiered in March 2023, and Season 3 premiered in February 2025. The Hollywood strikes caused a delay in production between those two seasons, so Season 4 could come sooner than its predecessor.
Who is in the Yellowjackets Season 4 cast?
Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, Yellowjackets is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls’ soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. Equal parts survival epic, psychological horror and coming-of-age drama, the series chronicles their descent from a complicated yet thriving team to savage clans while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later. It proves that the past is never really the past and what began in the wilderness is far from over.
An official cast list will be shared at a later time, but it’s safe to assume that Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse (Shauna), Christina Ricci and Samantha Hanratty (Misty), Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Tai), Courtney Eaton (Lottie), Sophie Thatcher (Natalie), Liv Hewson (Van), Nia Sondaya (Akilah), Warren Kole (Jeff), Jenna Burgess (Melissa), Sarah Desjardins (Callie), Elijah Wood (Walter), and Ashley Sutton (Hanna) would return. Hilary Swank debuted as adult Melissa in Season 3 and played a major role in the season’s final episodes. There’s no word on whether she’ll be back in Season 3, but it’s possible.
Simone Kessell (adult Lottie), Lauren Ambrose (adult Van), Steven Krueger (Coach Ben), and Alexa Barajas (Mari) are less certain for the returning cast, as their characters were killed off in Season 3. But the dead often come back to haunt the narrative in this mind-bending drama, so it’s not out of the question that they could appear again like Ella Purnell‘s Jackie.
Nelson Franklin and Joel McHale guest starred in Season 3.
When do the teens get rescued in Yellowjackets?
We’ve known since the early days that the teens were trapped in the Canadian wilderness for around 18 months after their plane crashed on the way to a soccer national championship in 1996. We also know that they live through two winters in the woods before they’re rescued, as the series’ wintery opening scene featuring the death of the still-unidentified “pit girl” did not come to pass in their first winter in Season 2.
Season 3 Episode 6 initiated the rescue storyline in a major plot twist at the end of the episode. Shauna, Tai, and Lottie thwarted their rescue, but a secret plan in the finale hunt of Mari (who was revealed to be the infamous Pit Girl) led to Natalie successfully sending out a distress signal. The rescue will presumably be depicted in Season 4.
How many seasons of Yellowjackets will there be?
Yellowjackets was created by showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. They serve as executive producers and showrunners with Jonathan Lisco. Entertainment Tonight reported in 2022 that the team pitched a five-season plan to Showtime. Given that, it makes sense for Season 3 to be a time of big change for the narrative.
Paramount Global also shared that the Season 3 premiere generated more social media activity than the December 2024 debut of Dexter: Original Sin, making it Showtime’s most talked-about premiere ever. The company says that Yellowjackets‘ Season 3 return had 9 million social views and 1 million social engagements during premiere weekend, making for 545% and 1197% increases, respectively, from the second season.
Yellowjackets, Season 4 Premiere, TBA, Paramount+ & Showtime