Yellowjackets Season 4 just got its official teaser, and fans are already pausing it frame by frame. Paramount+ released the teaser on Wednesday, October 14, for the fourth and final season of the Showtime original, and the date is locked: the final season premieres Friday, November 20, exclusively on Paramount+ for subscribers on the Premium plan. After three seasons of plane crash survival, forest rituals and grown survivors hiding what they did out there, the series created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson is heading for its ending, and the teaser makes it very clear that nobody walks out clean.
What the final season is about
Here is the setup straight from the studio. In the wilderness timeline, rescue finally draws close to the teenagers' camp, but the salvation they have waited for threatens to expose their darkest secrets. In the present day, an old flame comes back to town with a hidden agenda of her own. The official press release sums up the mood perfectly: as the survivors race to bury their sins before rescue arrives, "not every homecoming is a joyous one, and this one's going to sting."
Who is back
Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci and Tawny Cypress return as the adult Shauna, Misty and Taissa, with Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Samantha Hanratty, Courtney Eaton and Liv Hewson playing the teenage team. Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank is back as the adult Melissa, with Jenna Burgess as her younger self, and Warren Kole, Kevin Alves and Sarah Desjardins round out the core. Paramount+ has also confirmed two very fun guest stars: Molly Ringwald, the 1980s icon of Pretty in Pink, and Oscar nominee June Squibb of Thelma. Lyle and Nickerson return as showrunners and executive producers, so the people who started this story are the ones finishing it.
Why the ending is a big deal
Yellowjackets is equal parts survival epic, psychological horror and coming-of-age drama, and it got bigger as it went. Paramount reports that Season 3 was the most watched season in the history of the series, with record social chatter to match. That is rare for a show this strange and this dark, and it means November 20 is going to be one of the loudest horror television nights of the year. If you came to the show through scary movies, it sits right next to the picks in our 25 best horror movies of all time.
How to catch up before November 20
Seasons 1 and 2 stream on any Paramount+ plan, and Season 3 needs the Premium plan. If you would rather own the early seasons on disc, which also makes a great gift for the friend who keeps quoting Misty, these are the ones to get:
- Where it all starts. Yellowjackets: Season 1 on Blu-ray is a four-disc set with all 10 episodes, including the pilot directed by Karyn Kusama.
- Winter in the woods. Yellowjackets Season Two on Blu-ray is a three-disc set covering the season where hunger and belief start to take over.
The music is half the mood
That creeping main title theme, No Return, comes from composers Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker, and their Season 1 score, Blood Hive, is on the Lakeshore Records Bandcamp. For the needle drops, Universal Music Canada pressed the Season 2 Official Soundtrack as a black and gold double vinyl set, packed with Alanis Morissette's extended No Return, Florence + The Machine covering Just A Girl, plus Nirvana, The Cranberries, Garbage, Pulp and Veruca Salt. Pure 1990s alt rock, pure Yellowjackets.
Want more prestige horror on your watchlist while you wait? Our Carrie season 2 guide covers the latest Stephen King series, and our A24 horror starter guide is the perfect weekend binge.
Paramount+ · Official teaser · Paramount Press Express
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