Yellowjackets' Adult Stars Confirm What We Suspected About Their Relationships With The Younger Cast
The drama series "Yellowjackets," which was created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, premiered on Showtime on November 14, 2021. After gaining significant word-of-mouth momentum through the following weeks, 1.3 million viewers tuned into the Season 1 finale ten weeks later, a number which reportedly marked a sizable increase from the premiere (via Deadline).
The series takes place in two timelines: 1996 and 2021. In 1996, a high school girls' soccer team is stranded in the wilderness after their plane crashes on the way to a national tournament. While there, the teens — including secretly pregnant Shauna (Sophie Nélisse), determined Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown), troubled Natalie (Sophie Thatcher), and "weird" girl Misty (Sammi Hanratty) — struggle to survive and, as is revealed through a flash-forward in the pilot episode, eventually resort to cannibalism. In 2021, dissatisfied stay-at-home mom Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), politician Taissa (Tawny Cypress), recurrent rehab resident Natalie (Juliette Lewis), and manipulative nurse Misty (Christina Ricci) grapple with the lingering trauma of their time in the wilderness, while dealing with a blackmailer who may know all of their secrets.
Casting directors Libby Goldstein and Junie Lowry-Johnson have received praise for their pitch-perfect casting of the eight actors playing the central four characters (via The Ringer). After all, it's vital to the series that the younger actors and the older actors believably portray the same characters. Beyond the casting, one would assume that the actors who play the same role would need to have a good behind-the-scenes relationship, as well.
In a recent interview, the four adult actresses opened up about their relationships with their younger counterparts — here's what they had to say.
The older cast members feel protective of the younger cast members
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci — the actors who play the adult versions of the "Yellowjackets" characters — discussed all things "Yellowjackets" ahead of the start of filming the highly-anticipated "Yellowjackets" Season 2. When interviewer Rebecca Keegan asked if the actresses felt protective of their younger counterparts, given that each of them knows what it is like to be a young actress working in Hollywood, the foursome immediately admitted that they do feel protective.
Tearing up, Lynskey said, "I feel very protective. At the beginning of production, I sent them all an email, and I just was like, 'Whatever you need, if you need a voice, if you need someone to go to the producers for you, whatever you need,' and they were kind of like, 'Cool. Thanks.' They're fine."
Cypress agreed that the younger cast members don't seem to need their protection, noting that Jasmin Savoy Brown often speaks up on set about details such as how she thought her character's hair should be styled. Cypress also added that she feels like a mother or big sister figure to Brown, sometimes questioning the type of stuff that Brown posts online. Cypress added, "[Brown is] like, 'Whatever. Whatever. This is life, man. I love myself.' I'm protective, but I'm also in awe of her, you know?"
Concluding, Lewis revealed the advice she always gives to young people in Hollywood: "Cultivate other interests deeply so that you're not getting all your life's blood from this industry, or your self-worth."