What’s scarier than growing up? Being lost in the woods! The new drama Yellowjackets, starting 14 January on M-Net, follows a high school soccer team that has to survive the Canadian wilderness after the plane taking them to a tournament crash lands. Mixing psychological terror with coming-of-age drama, this show looks set to put us into binge mode. Here are a few reasons we can’t wait to watch it.
Everyone’s talking about it
Okay, so that’s not a reason to watch anything. In fact, that very reason can put some people off. A hyped show sometimes elevates expectations too much. But sometimes it can pique your interest because you can’t help wondering: what is this show everyone’s talking about and is it as good as they say? Well, why not find out for yourself? We certainly intend to, and there are plenty more reasons to watch besides.
Planes
Lost. Manifest. Fringe. Many great dramas have started with a plane. As does Yellowjackets. That’s no guarantee of success or brilliance, but it sure seems to indicate an exciting start.
Cannibalism
Don’t raise your eyebrows! We have not developed a taste for human flesh or turned into zombies. But we hear it occurs in the show, and the Hannibal-Clarice-Silence-of-the-Lambs-loving part of us can’t help being intrigued.
The 90s
The show hops between the present day and 1996. We love a double timeline that puts us in different eras, and we are so ready for one of those to be the 90s.
The cast
The double timeline also means we get to see characters in the present and teen versions of them in the past. And who better to cast in a 90s-set coming-of-age drama than actresses who were coming-of-age stars in the ‘90s, namely: Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, and Melanie Lynskey. If you grew up in the 90s you’re sure to remember Ricci playing Rosie O’Donnell’s younger counterpart in Now and Then or the precocious Wednesday in The Addams Family movies. Lewis made her mark as the irrepressible Becky in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and the imperilled Danielle in Cape Fear. And no one blended terror and coming-of-age drama quite like Lynskey in Heavenly Creatures.
In Yellowjackets, these three play the adult versions of Misty, Natalie, and Shauna. For the teen versions of the characters, there is a younger cast in the form of Sammi Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, and Sophie Nélisse. Unforgettable fans will recognise Tawny Cypress as Taissa in the present day, with Jasmin Savoy Brown playing her teen counterpart. The younger actresses may be playing teens, but they’re not new to our screens. You may have spotted them in many movies and shows before. So, it goes without saying: there’s plenty of talent going around.
Watch Yellowjackets season 1 Fridays at 21:30, from 14 January, only on M-Net.
Feature image: Brendan Meadows/SHOWTIME. (c) 2021 Showtime Networks Inc. All Rights Reserved