Yellowjackets season 2 cast: Meet the characters
Everything you need to know.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Yellowjackets season 1.
Yellowjackets has so much going for it. From the mysteries of the past to twists in the present – not to mention that killer soundtrack – it's no wonder the show has such an enthusiastic following.
But if there's one reason in particular why viewers are hooked on Yellowjackets, it's the cast. Bringing in '90s icons like Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis was a stroke of genius, and whoever was responsible for finding their teen counterparts must be a genius too because you truly believe every flashback is real – well, except for the ones full of death and supernatural shenanigans. They're a tad more suspect.
With season 2 upon us, read on for everything you need to know about the cast of Yellowjackets.
Who's in the cast of Yellowjackets season 2?
- Melanie Lynskey and Sophie Nélisse as Shauna
- Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Taissa
- Christina Ricci and Sammi Hanratty as Misty
- Juliette Lewis and Sophie Thatcher as Natalie AKA 'Nat'
- Ella Purnell as Jackie
- Lauren Ambrose and Liv Hewson as Vanessa AKA 'Van'
- Simone Kessell and Courtney Eaton as Lottie
Read on for everything you need to know about the cast of Yellowjackets.
Melanie Lynskey plays adult Shauna
Who is adult Shauna? She went on to marry Jackie's former boyfriend Jeff and they have a daughter called Callie, who she has a strained relationship with. Shauna had an affair with an artist called Adam, who she murdered due to her belief that he was the one blackmailing her. But it emerged that Jeff, who was having money troubles, was behind the scam.
Where have I seen Melanie Lynskey before? Lynskey recently appeared in HBO-Sky Atlantic drama The Last of Us. She's also known for Heavenly Creatures with Kate Winslet, Hulu's Candy, HBO comedy-drama Togetherness, The Informant with Matt Damon, Netflix's I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, Away We Go starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, and comedy Two and a Half Men.
Sophie Nélisse plays teen Shauna
Who is Shauna? Shauna, along with the rest of the high school girls' football team, was stranded in the middle of nowhere after the plane that was carrying them to nationals crashed. She was best friends with Jackie but their relationship fell apart after Shauna and Jackie's boyfriend Jeff slept together, and Shauna fell pregnant.
Where have I seen Sophie Nélisse before? Most recently, she starred in The Kid Detective with Adam Brody. She's also fluent in French and has appeared in numerous French films and TV shows.
Tawny Cypress plays adult Taissa
Who is adult Taissa? She works in politics, winning the election to become the state senator of New Jersey. She has a wife and a son but her family life begins to fall apart due to her past trauma.
Where have I seen Tawny Cypress before? Cypress has appeared in superhero drama Heroes, police procedural Unforgettable and crime drama K-Ville.
Jasmin Savoy Brown plays teen Taissa
Who is Taissa? After the plane crash, she grows close to Van and the pair become romantically involved. While stranded in the wildness, she also begins sleepwalking and eating dirt, which continues in the present day.
Where have I seen Jasmin Savoy Brown before? She has appeared in legal drama For the People and Damon Lindelof's The Leftovers.
Christina Ricci plays adult Misty
Who is adult Misty? She works in a nursing home but she'd make a great PI and spends her time engaging in amateur sleuthing. She lives alone and has an African grey parrot who she loves dearly. Like her teen self, she isn't afraid to overstep the mark morally if it means getting what she wants.
Where have I seen Christina Ricci before? She recently starred in Netflix's Wednesday opposite Jenna Ortega. She's best known for The Addams Family, Sleepy Hollow, Casper, Speed Racer, and The Opposite of Sex, among others.
Sammi Hanratty plays teen Misty
Who is teen Misty Misty? The team's equipment manager. She's an outsider who is desperate to be liked but often alienates people with the things she says and does. Misty might give the impression that she's a pushover, but underestimate her at your own peril.
Where have I seen Sammi Hanratty before? You might have watched Hanratty in the US series of Shameless, supernatural horror Salem and action-drama The Unit.
Juliette Lewis plays adult Natalie AKA 'Nat'
Who is adult Nat? She suffers from addiction and has endured numerous stints in rehab. She spends much of season 1 looking into Travis's death, and she also tries to take her own life, but her attempt is foiled when she's kidnapped. Nat can also hold her own in a fight and knows her way around a gun.
Where have I seen Juliette Lewis before? Her CV includes Cape Fear with Robert De Niro, Hysterical Blindness with Uma Thurman, and August: Osage County with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. She recently appeared in Hulu-Star true crime series Welcome to Chippendales and the recent adaptation of Queer as Folk.
Sophie Thatcher plays teen Nat
Who is teen Nat? Nat, another member of the football team, is a tough cookie who doesn't shy away from confrontation when it's necessary. She also grew up with an abusive father. After the crash, she becomes romantically involved with Travis, the coach's son.
Where have I seen Sophie Thatcher before? Her most prominent role before Yellowjackets was in Quibi series When the Street Lights Go On.
Ella Purnell plays Jackie Taylor
Who is Jackie? Jackie was the captain of the girls' football team and one of the most popular students at school. She fell out with Shauna after learning that her best friend and her boyfriend Jeff had slept together. In the season 1 finale, we learn that Jackie froze to death.
Where have I seen Ella Purnell before? Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children with Asa Butterfield and Eva Green, Starz series Sweetbitter, Never Let Me Go starring Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield, Maleficent with Angelina Jolie and ITV period drama Belgravia are just some of the titles she's appeared in.
Lauren Ambrose plays adult Vanessa AKA 'Van'
Who is adult Van? We've yet to meet Van in the present day, so it remains to be seen what became of her after she was rescued.
Where have I seen Lauren Ambrose before? Ambrose is best known for HBO's Six Feet Under and Apple TV+ series Servant.
Liv Hewson plays teen Van
Who is teen Van? Another member of the football team. She falls in love with Taissa and is almost killed by a wolf, but miraculously manages to survive.
Where have I seen Liv Hewson before? You might have watched Hewson in Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet.
Simone Kessell plays adult Lottie
Who is adult Lottie? She appears to be running her own cult and had Nat kidnapped in the season 1 finale. It's also hinted that she might be responsible for Travis's murder.
Where have I seen Simone Kessell before? You might Kessell her from crime thriller Reckoning, ABC's The Crossing, and Fox's Terra Nova, among others.
Courtney Eaton plays teen Lottie
Who is Lottie? Another member of the football team. Lottie began experiencing visions after her medication ran out, but fans of the show were split as to whether it was tied to her worsening mental health, or if she has supernatural capabilities.
Where have I seen Courtney Eaton before? She appeared in Mad Max: Fury Road and Gods of Egypt.
Read more:
- Yellowjackets season 2 reveals what happened to Lottie
- Yellowjackets season 2 reveals Jackie’s grisly fate
Other members of the football team are:
- Jane Widdop (Truth Be Told) as Laura Lee – she attempts to charter a plane to safety, but dies when it explodes mid-air.
- Alexa Barajas (The Flash) as Mari
- Keeya King (Van Helsing) as Akilah
The additional cast of Yellowjackets is as follows.
- Warren Kole (Shades of Blue) as Jeff – Shauna's husband and Jackie's ex-boyfriend.
- Sarah Desjardins (Riverdale) as Callie – Shauna and Jeff's teenage daughter.
- Rukiya Bernard (Van Helsing) as Simone – Taissa's wife, their marriage hit a rough patch in season 1 when Simone discovers Taissa's creepy shrine in their basement.
- Alex Wyndham (Little Dorrit) as Kevyn – a detective who was Nat's closest friend in high school.
- Steven Krueger (The Originals) as assistant coach Ben
- Kevin Alves (Locke and Key) as teen Travis – he was romantically involved with Nat during their time in the wilderness. He later dies but circumstances around his death remain a mystery
- Peter Gadiot as Adam – the artist Shauna had an affair with.
- Rekha Sharma (Roswell, New Mexico) as Jessica Roberts – she was investigating the remaining Yellowjackets .
Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) has also joined the cast as Walter, who is part of an online citizen detective community.
Yellowjackets season 2 streams on Paramount Plus – get Paramount Plus for no extra cost on Sky, or get a seven-day free trial of Paramount Plus on Amazon Prime Video.
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Authors
David Opie is a freelance entertainment journalist who writes about TV and film across a range of sites including Radio Times, Indiewire, Empire, Yahoo, Paste, and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and strives to champion LGBTQ+ storytelling as much as possible. Other passions include comics, animation, and horror, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race. He previously worked at Digital Spy as a Deputy TV Editor and has a degree in Psychology.
