Tamal Kundu
Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, ‘Yellowjackets’ is a psychological horror thriller airing on Showtime. The series has two primary timelines. In 1996, a group of teenage female soccer players from a New Jersey high school gets stranded in the Ontario wilderness after their plane crashes. As the weather becomes progressively severe and the possibility of rescue grows dimmer, the survivors take drastic measures, including cannibalism, to keep living. In the present day, those who have made it back to civilization alive find themselves being subjected to blackmail for their past actions.
‘Yellowjackets’ seamlessly combines multiple genres to tell a deeply disturbing but widely engaging story. If you have watched the show and loved it, here is a list of recommendations that you might like.
10. Wayward Pines (2015-2016)
If the spooky and unsettling aspects of ‘Yellowjackets’ intrigue you the most, ‘Wayward Pines’ is bound to be a great watch. Moreover, Juliette Lewis, who plays adult Natalie in ‘Yellowjackets’ portrays an important character in the first season of ‘Wayward Pines.’ Developed by Chad Hodge from ‘The Wayward Pines’ novels by Blake Crouch and with M. Night Shyamalan serving as one of the executive producers, the series follows Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon), a US Secret Service agent, who arrives in the eponymous town to investigate the mysterious disappearances of two fellow agents and finds himself confronting the town’s brutal sheriff, Arnold Pope (Terrence Howard).
9. The A List (2018–2021)
Dan Berlinka and Nina Metivier, the creators of ‘The A List’ once described their show as “Mean Girls meets Lost,” a phrase that aptly describes ‘Yellowjackets’ as well. The British series follows a group of teenagers as they arrive at Peregrine Island to spend their summer there. Mia is a popular girl who wants to secure her position as the group’s Queen Bee, but her plans are foiled because of Amber, a mysterious girl with sinister ideas.
8. Creamerie (2021)
As in ‘Yellowjackets,’ a matriarchal society is an important part of the narrative in ‘Creamerie.’ The story is set eight years after a devastating pandemic that seemingly killed the world’s entire male population. Although male children are conceived, they don’t survive childbirth. Following the complete disintegration of the old society, the women of the world have replaced it with the one they have created. Unfortunately, this new society isn’t that better and is prone to commit the mistakes of the old one. At the start of the series, Jaime (J.J. Fong), her sister-in-law Alex (Ally Xue), and her friend Pip (Perlina Lau) come across a male survivor of the pandemic, Bobby (Jay Ryan). When the society comes for their new acquaintance, the women have no choice but to protect him.
7. Euphoria (2019–)
HBO, the network that airs ‘Euphoria,’ was originally in the running to be the home for ‘Yellowjackets,’ However, noticing how similar the two shows are, the HBO executives decided to opt out of broadcasting the latter. Addiction and mental health play important roles in the narrative of ‘Euphoria,’ just as they do in Yellowjackets.’ ‘Euphoria’ revolves around several teenagers in the fictional town of East Highland, California, as they navigate through various problems in their lives. The series is narrated by Ruby “Rue” Bennett (Zendaya), a young woman riddled with drug addiction. At the start of the series, she arrives home from rehab and immediately goes back to her old habits.
6. Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019)
While Netflix’s ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ is significantly more wholesome than ‘Yellowjackets,’ both shows have similar wry humor. There is also the cannibalism part, but to be fair, Sheila Hammond (Drew Barrymore) in ‘Santa Clarita Diet’ is not entirely human, unlike the survivors of ‘Yellowjackets’ and has the excuse of being a zombie. In the show, Sheila and her husband Joel lead a typical suburban life and work as real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California, but one day, Sheila undergoes certain changes, and she and her family realize that she is now an undead. As the Hammonds try to figure out their new circumstances, they must also keep them a secret from curious neighbors and navigate cultural norms.
5. Dare Me (2019–2020)
Based on the 2012 namesake novel by Megan Abbott and created by Abbott and Gina Fattore, ‘Dare Me’ revolves around a group of high school cheerleaders in a small Midwestern town and focuses on the darker aspects of cheerleading. Beth (Marlo Kelly) and Addy (Herizen Guardiola) are Sutton Grove High School cheerleaders. They are inseparable friends, leading lives filled to the brim with sex, drugs, and drinking. They are also incredibly ambitious and desperately want to make it to the nationals.
Things begin to change in their lives following the arrival of their new coach, Colette French (Willa Fitzgerald), who quickly becomes the subject of fascination for the girls. Like ‘Yellowjackets,’ ‘Dare Me’ is about ruthless young women who will do anything to get what they want.
4. Cruel Summer (2021-)
As in ‘Yellowjackets,’ the 1990s are an important part of the narrative in ‘Cruel Summer.’ And the similarities don’t end there. Both shows have multiple timelines, and they have similar themes, though, admittedly, there is no cannibalism in ‘Cruel Summer.’ The plot goes back and forth between 1993, 1994, and 1995 and primarily follows two young women, Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) and Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia), from the fictional town of Skylin, Texas.
After Kate goes missing in 1993, Jeanette, originally a recluse and nerdy girl, gradually replaces her as the popular girl at their school and even starts dating Kate’s boyfriend. When Kate returns in 1994, she sues Jeanette, claiming that the latter knew about her kidnapping and didn’t tell anyone. Feeling cornered and alone, Jeanette sues Kate for defamation in 1995.
3. The Society (2019)
Despite receiving rave reviews when it originally came out, ‘The Society’ became a victim of the pandemic and was canceled after one season. The series is often dubbed as the modern retelling of William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies,’ which also serves as the source of inspiration for ‘Yellowjackets.’ After the mysterious disappearance of the rest of their town’s population, a group of teenagers must learn to survive on their own. As they try to figure out what caused the disappearance of their loved ones and why there is suddenly a thick forest surrounding their town, the teenagers establish a community of their own.
2. The Wilds (2020–2022)
As in ‘Yellowjackets,’ the story in ‘The Wilds’ begins with a plane crash. Fatin Jadmani, Martha Blackburn, Toni Shalifoe, Shelby Goodkind, Rachel Reid, Nora Reid, Dot Campbell, and Leah Rilke are teenage girls hailing from different backgrounds. After surviving their crash, they end up on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. As they work together in their efforts to survive, the girls don’t realize that they are part of a twisted social experiment created by Gretchen Klein, the head of the Dawn of Eve program, the very initiative the girls were supposed to attend in Hawaii if their plane hadn’t crashed.
1. Lost (2004–2010)
The controversial ending notwithstanding, ‘Lost’ remains one of the most complex, compelling, and impactful television experiences of all time. Just like in ‘The Wilds’ and ‘Yellowjackets,’ the narrative in ‘Lost’ begins with a crash, after which the survivors find themselves on a strange island, which some of them start to believe is sapient and has brought them there. The narrative flow of ‘Lost’ goes back and forth over its six seasons, creating an even more hard-to-follow timeline than ‘Yellowjackets.’ However, despite its ambitious themes, ‘Lost,’ as a show,’ is grounded in its characterization, just like the Showtime series.
Read More: Is Yellowjackets Based on a True Story?
