‘Yellowjackets’ Season Two Release Date, Cast: What We Know

Buzz! 🐝
Photo: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME

Sorry, USMNT, our No. 1 (varsity) soccer team would eat y’all alive. Everyone’s favorite Probst-free survival series, Yellowjackets, is returning for a second season on Friday, March 24, for Showtime on Demand and Streaming subscribers. Then, it will premiere on-air on Sunday, March 26, at 9 p.m. ET. The Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson not-not-cannibal show is set to impale fans with answers to their theories and presumably take a twisted turn. A show with this many mysteries has us asking just as many questions … Questions like …

Vulture first kicked a flawless goal when TV critic Roxana Hadadi posited that, if teen Van (Liv Hewson) survives on the Showtime breakout series, her adult self should be played by Lauren Ambrose. And it turns out, Ambrose is indeed getting her own metaphorical Yellowjackets letterman jacket as a series regular playing adult Van.

On December 22, Showtime released photos of Ambrose as Van, whose scars have healed up quite nicely and who appears to be very into Pop Art–figurine collecting in adulthood (we all have to cope somehow).

Photo: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME

Elsewhere in the magical forest of Yellowjackets season-two details, Vulture’s gift of sight ran out when we got to the psychic character in a turn of fate that Alanis Morissette would definitely call ironic. Adult Lottie will officially be played by Our Flag Means Death and Obi-Wan star Simone Kessell. Our crystal ball may have fogged over, originally predicting Shannyn Sossamon for adult Lottie, but at least we now know the creepy mystic survived the wilderness. Apparently only Lottie herself could have seen it coming. Per Variety, adult Lottie will also have an associate named Lisa (Nicole Maines), who is trying to recover from past trauma.

Both Hewson and Courtney Eaton, who plays teen Lottie, have been upped to series regulars for the second season. That’s like going from a … uh … rookie to a … um … striker?

Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, and Tawny Cypress — who play Shauna, Natalie, Misty, and Taissa, respectively — have all survived to see another season. Lynskey even has a special guest coming for an episode in season two: Her husband Jason Ritter will star in a guest role in an unnamed role, according to Variety. Also joining the team is Malaysian actress Nuha Jes Izman as Crystal, a JV team member and theater kid that will bond with Misty. François Arnaud will guest star in four episodes as Paul, a New York writer and Coach Scott’s (Steven Kreuger) secret boyfriend. The role of Teen Akilah has been recast as Nia Sondaya.

And in news that only Faramir could have dreamed up, Elijah Wood is joining the cast of Yellowjackets — but not as an adult version of anyone, just, like … as an adult. “Wood will play Walter, a dedicated Citizen Detective who will challenge Misty in ways she won’t see coming,” says a press release. Misty, you’ve got a big storm coming.

On December 21, Showtime released a two-hour Yellowjackets Yule Log on YouTube. It’s a POV looking out the window of their desolate forest cabin into a harsh wilderness, with the show’s mysterious symbol occasionally popping up in the fogged glass. If you keep your eyes peeled for two full hours, we’re very worried about you, first of all, but also you might find some Season Two clues. Get at it, citizen detective!

Ahead of the season-two premiere, Showtime has already renewed Yellowjackets for a third installment. Buzz freakin’ buzz!

This post has been updated.