Yellowjackets Season 3: Release Date, Trailer, Cast, and Everything Else to Know

Yellowjackets took the world by storm when it made its debut on Showtime during COVID — its "Lost but with cannibalism" premise was too good not to check out, and then it turned out the show totally rules. Season 2 was a bit messier than Season 1 was, but after a long hiatus, the hype for Season 3 is approaching a fever pitch.

Here's everything we know so far about the series' return for a third season, including what the plot might entail, who will star, and when it will premiere.

Yellowjackets Season 3 release date

Yellowjackets Season 3 will premiere on Paramount+ with Showtime on Friday, Feb. 14, with two episodes. The two-premiere will then air on Showtime on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 9/8c. 

Following the premiere, new episodes will stream Fridays on Paramount+ with Showtime before airing on Showtime on Sunday nights at 9/8c. 

The season will consist of 10 episodes.

Yellowjackets Season 3 trailer

Showtime dropped the trailer for Yellowjackets Season 3 on Jan. 22, and it's a chilling one. "This Valentine's Day," the text reads, "will eat your heart out." The video teases more violence among the stranded teens in the wilderness, and shows their present day counterparts struggling to hide their dark past. "

In December 2024, Paramount+ with Showtime released the first look at Yellowjackets Season 3, with the catchy tagline "The past will come back to hunt you." The brief teaser also delivers our first glimpse of new cast member Hilary Swank, who has blood on her face and chest (hers? someone else's?), so it seems like she's fitting right in.

Yellowjackets Season 3 renewal

Even though the second season didn't premiere until March 2023, Showtime announced the show's renewal for Season 3 in December 2022. 

"With Yellowjackets' runaway success in Season 1 and the pent-up anticipation for Season 2, we wanted to maximize the momentum by fast-tracking Season 3 now," Showtime and Paramount Media Networks President and CEO Chris McCarthy said in a statement, according to Deadline. "The show's ambition is only exceeded by its execution." But thanks to the simultaneous writers and actors strikes in 2023, however, the track didn't end up being all that fast. 

Is there a bonus episode of Yellowjackets before Season 3?

Despite the buzz, a bonus episode of Yellowjackets will not be airing before Season 3. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in December 2024, co-creator Ashley Lyle said that while the bonus episode does exist, "we may need to wait a bit longer for it."

The bonus chapter has been rumored since the second season. Because Season 1 of Yellowjackets had 10 episodes and Season 2 only had 9, fans began theorizing that there would be an extra episode. In June 2023, shortly after the Season 2 finale, Lyle wrote on Twitter, now X, that there would "be a bonus episode between seasons."

Lyle then clarified that it wouldn't be coming out soon, suggesting at the time that fans could expect to see it closer to Season 3, but it looks like plans have since shifted.         

Yellowjackets Season 3 cast

The Hollywood Reporter shared on Sept. 30, 2024, that Yellowjackets Season 3 is adding Hilary Swank to its cast. She will appear in a recurring role — though no other information has been shared about her character — and will "make her first appearance in the latter stages of the season," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Joel McHale will appear in Season 3 in a guest role, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The details of the part are currently unknown. 

It's likely that much of the main cast from Season 2 will return. However, it's unclear what role — if any — Juliette Lewis will have as adult Natalie Scatorccio in Season 3. Adult Nat did die at the end of Season 2, but Ella Purnell returned as a ghost version of her character Jackie in a few episodes of Season 2, so anything is possible with Yellowjackets.

Yellowjackets main cast:

• Melanie Lynskey as adult Shauna Shipman
• Tawny Cypress as adult Taissa Turner
• Christina Ricci as adult Misty Quigley 
• Juliette Lewis as adult Natalie "Nat" Scatorccio
• Sophie Nélisse as teenage Shauna Shipman
• Jasmin Savoy Brown as teenage Taissa Turner
• Samantha Hanratty as teenage Misty Quigley
• Sophie Thatcher as teenage Natalie "Nat" Scatorccio
• Simone Kessell as adult Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews 
• Lauren Ambrose as adult Vanessa "Van" Palmer
• Courtney Eaton as teenage Charlotte "Lottie" Matthews
• Liv Hewson as teenage Vanessa "Van" Palmer
• Kevin Alves as teenage Travis Martinez
• Steven Krueger as Coach Ben
• Warren Kole as adult Jeff Sadecki
• Sarah Desjardins as Callie Sadecki
• Elijah Wood as Walter Tattersall 
• John Reynolds as Matt Saracusa

How to watch Yellowjackets

Both seasons of Yellowjackets are available to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime. You can also stream it on Prime Video with Paramount+. Plus, you can purchase episodes or seasons on Apple TV or Google Play.