Last Updated on February 18, 2025 by Angel Melanson
The wilderness heard us and gave us what we wanted – a third season of hit teen drama Yellowjackets. The series, first released in 2021, follows the titular 1996 high school soccer team left stranded in the Canadian wilderness following a plane crash. The show switches between the past as the group attempts to survive the harsh climate and impending starvation and the present, where the survivors' past threatens to derail their already troubled lives.
Mixing coming-of-age drama with a hint of the supernatural and just a touch of cannibalism (so far), Yellowjackets has proved a hit garnering multiple Emmy Award nominations and a dedicated fanbase that discusses and dissects each episode. Before the second season even kicked off, a third was announced by Paramount+ and Showtime, letting fans know there's far more darkness to explore – so have your life jackets ready.
Ahead of the eagerly-anticipated premiere, we give you all the information buzzing around about the upcoming series and round up everything you need to know about Yellowjackets season 3 including when and where you can tune in, which cast members are returning, what the trailers tell us, and popular fan theories we may finally have answers to.
Yellowjackets season three release date
The third season of Yellowjackets kicks off on Friday, February 14 – what a perfect Valentine's Day present for us all. The two-episode season three premiere debuts February 14 on Paramount+ with Showtime before its on-air Showtime debut on Sunday, February 16 at 8pm ET/PT.
New episodes will then premiere weekly on Fridays. This season, there are 10 episodes to enjoy, so the final episode of season three is set to air on April 11 – plenty of time to plan your watch parties.
A third season was renewed in December 2022, months before the season two premiere on March 26, 2023. Season three matches season one with 10 episodes each, whereas season two was slightly shorter with just nine. And we know just how much drama and intrigue can be packed into 10 installments – so strap in, it's sure to be a wild ride.
Returning cast and new faces
The third season of Yellowjackets will see the return of Melanie Lynskey as adult Shauna, Christina Ricci as adult Misty, and Tawny Cypress as adult Taissa. A notable absence this season is Juliette Lewis as adult Natalie after her gut-wrenching death in the season two finale. Simone Kessell and Lauren Ambrose will also return as adult Lottie and adult Van, respectively.
Their younger counterparts will be portrayed by returning cast members Sophie Nelisse as Shauna, Samantha Hanratty as Misty, Jasmine Savoy Brown as Taissa, Sophie Thatcher as Natalie, Courtney Eaton as Lottie, and Liv Hewson as Van. Additionally, Kevin Alves will reprise his role as Travis, Steven Krueger returns as Coach Ben, and Elijah Wood will once again star as Walter.
Two huge new stars are signing on for season three of Yellowjackets – Hilary Swank and Joel McHale. Details of their characters have not yet been revealed. They both have experience in the genre, with Swank appearing in the controversial 2020 film The Hunt and 2007 supernatural flicks The Reaping and The Gift, while McHale starred in It's A Wonderful Knife, Deliver Us From Evil, The Happytime Murders, Becky, and Assassination Nation. He is also set to star in Scream 7 as Sidney Prescott's husband, Mark Evans. Monsters star Ashley Sutton is also set to appear in a guest role.
Season three plot
Yellowjackets season two ended on an explosive finale, and it looks like the third season will hold much of the same high-stakes drama. The official logline reads: “The Yellowjackets face a fragile victory—the brutal winter that nearly claimed them is finally behind them, but distrust in leadership and tension within the team jeopardize their chances of being rescued.”
In the present, “Long-buried secrets from their pasts begin to surface. As the women fight to keep their lives from unraveling, they must confront a chilling question: who are they really, and what dark truths are they hiding from each other and themselves?”
For those who need a recap on season two, the climax of episode nine saw Natalie meet her untimely end after accidentally being drugged by Misty, causing a fatal overdose.
Lottie has once again been committed to a psychiatric facility, with Taissa and Van promising to visit her. Lottie is convinced that whatever force they experienced in the wilderness is back, but she believes they're safe now after giving it the blood of one of their own – Natalie. In the past timeline, Natalie has been crowned the Antler Queen, succeeding Lottie, while a fire presumably set by Ben burned down their cabin in the show's final scenes, leaving them without shelter.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions going into season three, leaving fans hankering for an answer, such as who sent the postcards in season one, what is happening with Taissa's split identity, what is the mysterious symbol in the woods, and what exactly is the entity that appears to be present in the wilderness? We're not sure if any other surviving team members from the past will crop up in the present, especially after season two saw them tuck into Jackie's body, bringing up the possibility that additional survivors are about to be sacrificed for the good of the group.
Addressing what fans can expect in season three, co-creator Bart Nickerson told Entertainment Weekly: “I think that people will be surprised by the characters' resourcefulness in the face of their continued survival.” What we see is a continuation of some of the tensions and resentments that were building in season two. Co-creator Ashley Lyle added. “And those really play a large part in how the girls continue to interact this season.”
Dissecting the season three trailers
The teaser trailer and full trailer have sent the Yellowjackets fandom into overdrive guessing what our groups in the past and present will endure to survive. The first teaser sees the girls' power struggle in the past continue to rage on, while they become increasingly comfortable with cannibalism. “I can't believe we didn't eat them first,” says young Shauna, while we see different characters don the infamous cannibalism mask – though we don't yet know who is on the chopping block.
In the present, the survivors are still fighting for their lives – though this time, they're not trapped on a snowy mountain. “Someone wants to kill us,” says adult Shauna, to which adult Van replies: “The only people who know about this are either us or dead.” But their past still threatens their present-day security, with a ghost Jackie (Ella Purnell) making an appearance to taunt Shauna. The teaser also gives us our first glimpse of Swank, who whispers “shit” before running away from something – or someone – that has her spooked.
The official trailer arrived on January 22, upping the stakes even further, set to the raging “Bodies” by Drowning Pool. Shauna begins proceedings with a terrifying statement: “Once upon a time, a bunch of teenage girls got stranded in the wilderness, and they hunted their friends, feasted on their flesh, and they went completely nuts.”
The music kicks in full throttle, and we're thrown straight into the pandemonium of season three, from fist fights to adult Taissa and Van sharing a kiss, and Swank's new character calling someone “insane.” Shauna continues: “The only way to truly be safe is to be the only one left,” teasing more deaths for the upcoming episodes, and if the trailer is anything to go by, as well as the end of season two, luck might have run out for Coach Ben.
Fan theories
Watching each episode of Yellowjackets is, of course, the fun of each season, but speculating on theories with other fans is definitely up there. As with seasons one and two, viewers have plenty of ideas about what will go down in the next ten episodes. One of the most popular theories is that another survivor will make an appearance, and that seems likely given the revelations of Van and Lottie since the show began.
The identity of Swank's character has provided a fresh mystery for season three with many fans speculating she is the adult version of Mel. Others, however, think it could transpire that the Yellowjackets were never rescued and their fantasies have become so detailed that they have created entire adult lives for themselves.
Since season one, many have wondered what the seemingly supernatural force in the wilderness could be. Due to the prevalence of trees within the narrative, many have speculated that it is a tree spirit haunting the girls in the past, and in the present as adults.
In folklore, tree spirits are often represented as young women, so given the Yellowjackets are a team of young women, they could have this in common. Others, however, don't believe that the “darkness” even exists and is a manifestation of the trauma the girls went through together, which given the mental states of the women as adults, could very much be true.
One theory has been cleared up in the run-up to season three, and that's the existence of a secret bonus episode. Co-creator Lyle confirmed the news after the season two finale and that the extra installment was set to air between seasons 2 and 3: “The truth is that there is a bonus episode, but we may need to wait a bit longer for it” (per Vanity Fair). She also stated there would be “very clear answers” to “two very big questions,” so consider us seated on Valentine's Day and every week after.
