Yellowjackets' Adult Stars Each Think The Show Is About Something Completely Different
Showtime's "Yellowjackets" tells the traumatic story of a high school soccer team (the eponymous Yellowjackets) who are thrust into a harrowing survival situation when their plane crashes deep within the Canadian wilderness. The story is told through a nonlinear narrative: chronicling the horrifying conditions that the team had to endure during their 19-month stay in the woods, while also flashing-forward to show how the trauma of this chilling event continues to impact each of the teammates throughout their adult lives.
Season 1 of "Yellowjackets" received universal critical acclaim for its mystery elements, performances, and unique blend of horror and drama — and as of this writing the series holds an incredible 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Suffice to say, there is certainly a lot going on in "Yellowjackets," and while the numerous branching aspects of the series have received plenty of praise from critics, at times it can be hard to pin down exactly what kind of a show "Yellowjackets" really is. Is it a survival horror story? A psychological drama?
Indeed, even the adult cast members of the series seem unsure of the answer, as they all have differing opinions on what the series is actually about.
Each actor claims the show is about something different, and in a way they're all right
During a recent interview for The Hollywood Reporter, actors Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, and Christina Ricci (who play the adult versions of Yellowjackets team members Taissa, Natalie, Shauna, and Misty, respectively) were each asked to finish the sentence "Yellowjackets is really about..." and hilariously, each actor gave a different response, echoing the way the series' often blurs the line between different genres.
Cypress asserted that the show was about "women," "PTSD," and "friendship," while Lynsky simply stated that the series was about "trauma." Ricci was more specific, explaining that the series was about "Haunting, the way that trauma haunts you. The way that you can never escape. The way it twists people in different ways." In contrast, Lewis claimed that the series was about "Aberrant survival tactics."
Although it's quite funny that each actor seems to think the show is about different things, in a way they're all right: since, truthfully, the series is about women, and friendship, and lasting trauma, and the horrific things that people will do in order to survive. As hilarious as these conflicting answers may be, they actually provide some pretty important insight into what makes this show so appealing — the fact that it explores so many different topics in an engrossing and powerful way.