While Amazon Prime’sThe Wildsmay have beaten them to the punch plot-wise, it looks like Showtime’sYellowjackets, created byAshley LyleandBart Nickerson, is shaping up to be the prestige television experience for those seeking a stranded,Lord of the Fliesvibe featuring a group of teenage girls.Yellowjackets, which is the name of the girls’ soccer team, ups the ante by putting violence at the forefront, including the hunting, killing, and straight-up cannibalism of fellow schoolmates. Further, it tells not only the story of these marooned soccer champions, who wanted nothing more than to make it to nationals, but what happens later in life after the survivors have been rescued.
With such a talented cast of young and middle-aged actors playing the same characters while the narrative shifts between 1996 and 2021, it can be difficult to keep track of who’s who. That’s what we’re here for, so sit back and delve into Collider’sYellowjacketscast and character guide.
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Shauna (Sophie Nèlisse / Melanie Lynskey)
Teenaged Shauna, played bySophie Nèlisse, at first comes off as the most popular Yellowjacket’s (Jackie) less shiny best friend who is just lucky to be in her favor. But as time moves on, it becomes increasingly apparent that Shauna has no loyalty towards Jackie at all. She’s shamelessly sleeping with Jackie’s boyfriend, Jeff, and is clearly in love with him. This is displayed by her directions to him during sex to tell her he loves her, and by her hiding her early acceptance to Brown University, as she doesn’t want to leave him.
Shauna eventually gets her wish after being rescued from the Canadian wilderness, as it is shown that her adult version (Melanie Lynskey) has in fact married Jeff with no Jackie in sight. She clearly has some kill in her as well, illustrated when she unflinchingly guts a rabbit that’s been feeding off of her garden. That’s not to say that Shauna hasn’t a shred of decency in her – she’s one of the first to confront Taissa about her actions toward fellow teammate Allie, which we will get to soon. Shauna seems to be the lead keeper of the secrets that occurred during the girls’ nineteen months in the forest, shown by a bevy of their diaries from the time that she keeps locked in a safe.
Sophie Nélisse is a native of French Canada, and has appeared in a number of Canadian productions before stepping up to Hollywood films in movies likePawn Sacrifice,The Great Gilly Hopkins,Mean Dreams, and47 Meters Down: Uncaged.
Melanie Lynskey has a long filmography behind her. She started with secondary roles in films likeCoyote UglyandSweet Home Alabamabefore getting bumped up to more primary billing inThe Informant!,The Perks of Being a Wallflower,Happy Christmas, and the overlooked Netflix Original,I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore. Since then, she has been a regular sight in many movies and television shows.
Taissa “Tai” (Jasmin Savoy Brown / Tawny Cypress)
Taissa was and is a ruthless competitor, whether it be on the field as a teenaged soccer player (Jasmin Savoy Brown) or as a politician (Tawny Cypress). As a kid, there is nothing more important to her than winning the nationals — even if it means taking out the weak links in her own team. To that end, she kneecaps her teammate, Allie, during practice, who she sees as a liability to the Yellowjackets’ championship.
In 2021, she’s a New Jersey State Senator who’s still in touch with Shauna, who chews her out for not staying out of the public eye. She’s also a wife to her female partner and a mother. She works with Shauna to keep the carnage that occurred when they were kids from becoming public knowledge.
Jasmin Savoy Brown is a young actress who started in guest spots on TV shows and in shorts. She started to gain recognition for her part in HBO’sThe Leftoversand for voicing the primary antagonist, Phin Mason, in the video game,Spider-Man: Miles Morales. She recently had the starring role in the horror film,The Sound of Violence.
Tawny Cypress has played supporting roles in many TV series, includingThe Good Wife,House of Cards, andThe Black List.
Natalie (Sophie Thatcher / Juliette Lewis)
Natalie seems to be shaping up to be the hero of this series, or as much of a hero as the premise will allow for. Yet as a teenager (Sophie Thatcher), Natalie is a misfit – a punk rock, bleach-blonde bad girl, out of place in a winning championship soccer team. But even with that attitude, she stands up for underdogs like her fellow stoner buddies, and even Allie before she gets taken out by Taissa.
As an adult in 2021, Natalie (Juliette Lewis) is first shown completing rehab, stating that her drugging, drinking, and sex are all due to a current lack of purpose that she had when she was a teenager (presumably while she was stranded with the others). She claims that she’s found purpose again, a purpose that leads her to a storage unit where she’s got a sports car and a pump-action shotgun waiting for her. She’s later seen tracking and staking out Misty, whom we’ll get to in a moment.
Sophie Thatcher is relatively new to the business, having mostly appeared in secondary roles in television shows likeThe ExorcistandChicago Meds. Her breakthrough role was in the sci-fi indie movieProspect, where she took the lead as an orphaned daughter fighting for her survival on an alien planet.
Juliette Lewis needs no introduction. She’s been a static figure in Hollywood for decades, starring in movies such asCape Fear,What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,Natural Born Killers,From Dusk till Dawn,Cold Creek Manor, and on and on…
Misty (Samantha Hanratty / Christina Ricci)
Misty is the real wildcard in this production. As a teenager (Samantha Hanratty), she’s an outsider to the team, just there as an assistant to pick up towels and wash the uniforms. She’s quite socially awkward, and at one point seems to be spying on the team at their party, if the psychedelically drugged vision had by Natalie is to be believed. Once stranded in the wilderness, she apparently gains the power she’s so desperate for, ordering a murdered teammate to be bled out by another and cooked up for dinner. She’s the only crash survivor to be revealed as a party to cannibalism early on.
The talentedChristina Ricciplays Misty in 2021. She’s now a caretaker at an assisted living facility for senior citizens. And she’s seemingly grown no more compassionate over the years. She punishes a patient for spilling her food by refusing her pain medication for the night. As stated, she’s under surveillance by Natalie, fresh out of rehab.
Samantha Hanratty has been acting since she was ten years old. Most of her work has been in television, her most prominent roles being those inPushing Daisies,Salem, andShameless.
Christina Ricci is a formidable actor, having worked in many fine productions since her breakout role asWednesday AddamsinThe Addams Familyand its sequel. Such productions includeSleepy Hollow,Prozac Nation,Black Snake Moan,Speed Racer, andThe Lizzie Borden Chronicles.
Allie (Pearl Amanda Dickson / Tonya Cornelisse)
The teenaged Allie (Pearl Amanda Dickson) is a shallow freshman new to the Yellowjackets. She doesn’t have much to contribute to the proceedings other than being seriously bummed that she’s not allowed to go to prom. She apparently has little talent on the soccer field. As mentioned, she gets sidelined by Taissa before they can take off for the Nationals — and by sidelined, I mean Taissa slides in front of her during practice and breaks her leg so bad the bone shoots out of her skin.
Not much is shown of the adult Allie (Tonya Cornelisse), other than that she’s a wine drinker and that she’s very grateful that she didn’t make that trip to the championship and wind up in the plane crash along with her teammates. Karma’s a strange beast.
Pearl Amanda Dickson is a young actress who’s best known for her supporting role inLucy in the Skyand her portrayal of a young Syd in the hit seriesLegion.
Tonya Cornelisse is best known for supporting character roles in a number of television series, includingLaw & Order: SVU,NCIS, andSisters.
Jackie (Ella Purnell)
Jackie is the aforementioned BFF of Shauna, girlfriend of Jeff, and captain of the Yellowjackets. She also appears to be the first victim shown on screen as being hunted by the other girls in the wilderness, who make ominous bird sounds as she runs through the forest barefoot and bleeding. She falls into a trap burrowed into the snow and is impaled on spikes underground. She’s then strung up, drained of blood, and eaten by her teammates. At least, it definitelyseemsto be Jackie, as her golden heart necklace is displayed around her neck, and she’s not shown as a survivor in 2021.
Before her unfortunate demise, she genuinely seems like a good person. Despite her popularity, she’s a much better friend to Shauna than vice versa, even going so far as to give her best friend said heart necklace for good luck while on the flight. Of course, it can’t be Shauna that died that day, as she’s still alive in 2021, so logic says the necklace went back to Jackie, probably after finding out Shauna’s been riding her boyfriend like a bronco for who knows how long. Further, she takes her designation as captain seriously, and breaks up a major fight between the girls at a party, forcing them to say nice things about one another. She clearly has a good heart — at least until her teammates eat it like the Khaleesi inGame of Thrones.
Ella Purnellis a talented actress who has had roles in a number of notable films, includingKick-Ass 2,Maleficent,Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, andArmy of the Dead.
Vanessa “Van” (Liv Hewson)
Not much has been explored regarding Van (Liv Hewson) onYellowjacketsas of yet, other than her take-no-shit attitude. She displays it when she’s talked down to by Allie, and she does it again when she slaps her drunken mother to wake her up and get her to school. Seeing as there’s no adult actor playing her in 2021, it may be assumed that she died in Canada.
Liv Hewson has worked in Hollywood since 2013, and has amassed a few memorable roles over the years, including work in the underratedBefore I Fall,Top of the Lake,Inhumans, andSanta Clarita Diet.
Lottie (Courtney Eaton)
Lottie (Courtney Eaton) appears to be another secondary character on the Yellowjackets roster. She doesn’t have much to contribute to the first episode, other than that she’s very rich and that her father sprung for the private flight for the girls to nationals. Oh, and she has a prescription for Lexipine to combat her schizophrenia.
Another actress new to the scene, Courtney Eaton has racked up supporting roles inMad Max: Fury Road,Gods of Egypt, andLine of Duty.
Laura Lee (Jane Widdop)
Another Yellowjackets teammate who has little to do on-screen thus far, Laura Lee’s (Jane Widdop) only featured characteristic is that she’s a deeply religious Christian. That’s it.
Jane Widdop is just breaking out, and thus has mostly supporting roles in TV shows on her resume, includingMaking Moves,The Kicks, andFresh Off the Boat.
Jeff (Jack DePew / Warren Kole)
So far, Jeff (Jack DePew) shows no loyalty to his girlfriend Jackie, and has no qualms about continually sleeping with her best friend Shauna, although it must be said that she is the clear instigator of this.
The grown-up Jeff (Warren Kole) has even less to do on-screen, playing an absentee husband and father to Shauna and their daughter, Callie (Sarah Desjardins).
Jack DePew has been acting since 2010, with small roles in a number of series, bumping up to more screen time in theA-List,The Fosters, andExtinct.
Warren Kole has appeared in many television productions, including roles in24,The Following, andShades of Blue.
