On October 1, Netflix gets another excellent TV series that's perfect for anyone looking for a darker watch as we head towards Halloween. If you haven't streamed "Yellowjackets," before you're in for a truly wild ride.
Now, I'm not typically a big horror fan, it's just not a genre I gravitate towards all too often. But after hearing all the buzz about "Yellowjackets" when the first season landed, I decided to take the plunge and stream it on Paramount Plus a while back, and I was so glad I did: it's easily one of the best TV shows I've watched in years.
Partway through the season, I was convinced that the show would have been perfect as a limited series; pack plenty of intriguing plot hooks into 10 episodes of gripping — and occasionally wince-worthy — drama and then disappear, leaving us to ponder some of the (many!) lingering questions it posed.
Then, in its final moments, "Yellowjackets" dropped a single name that had me throwing that opinion straight in the trash and turned me into a day-one "Yellowjackets" season 2 viewer. That's how on board I became, and I am convinced that many first-time "Yellowjackets" viewers will be as hooked as I was if they give it a shot when the series drops on one of the best streaming services.
Need a little bit more info before adding it to your watchlist? Read on to find out a little bit more about Netflix's incoming show, including a few more plot details, and what critics have said about the series (spoiler: it's pretty damn good).
What is 'Yellowjackets' about?
If you've not seen it before, "Yellowjackets" is a mash-up of several genres; it's at once a survival story, a piece of gripping psychological horror, and coming-of-age drama, all shrouded in plenty of mysteries that are still yet to unravel.
The story revolves around a girls' high school soccer team. En route to a big tournament, their plane goes down, leaving them stranded in the wilderness. The show then plays out across two time periods; the first details the events in the days and months after the crash, showing the girls' struggle for survival... and how they descended from a tight-knit team into savage clans, "Lord of the Flies"-style.
The other strand takes place nearly 25 years later, catching up with the few survivors who made it back home. Each leads a very different life ... though it soon becomes clear that their past might be catching up with them all over again.
Why you should stream 'Yellowjackets' on Netflix the minute it arrives
Aside from my obvious enthusiasm for the series itself, now's a great time to get caught up, as "Yellowjackets" season 3 is due to hit our screens at some point in 2025. It's also just, separately, a thoroughly entertaining piece of TV, with a brilliant ensemble cast, and it manages to juggle both serious, dark drama and moments of bleak comedy really well.
As a mystery series, ultimately, I don't want to spoil the twists and turns of either strand in this particular tale, but I do not doubt that newcomers may well see "Yellowjackets" as (both metaphorically and literally) a killer drama. And I am far from the only person who feels that way.
At the time of writing, the series boasts an impressive perfect 100% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site describing it as "an absorbing mystery with plenty of sting."
To dive into specifics, Variety's Caroline Framke wrote the following about the first season: "Don't be fooled by its teen show trappings: "Yellowjackets" is a pitch-black parable of human desperation that will creep its way under your skin given the chance."
At RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico said: "There is something incredible binge-able about ["Yellowjackets"] in that the writing keeps building on itself, growing in potency as we get to know these characters better and better, courtesy of one of the best ensembles of the season."
And finally, Empire's James Dyer gave the show a 4-star rating, writing: "Gruesome, gripping and blackly comic, this tightly-plotted mystery-horror is meaty in all the right (and wrong) ways."
But if you do get caught up in all the drama and are left wanting more "Yellowjackets" as soon as possible, you can currently stream "Yellowjackets" season 2 on Paramount Plus with Showtime. We've also put together a list of shows like "Yellowjackets" if you need even more of the same kind of drama to tide you over until season 3 hits our screens, too.
