# Yellowjackets season 4
**Yellowjackets season 4** is the fourth and final season of the American psychological horror drama series *Yellowjackets*, premiering Friday, November 20, 2026, exclusively on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) for subscribers to the Paramount+ Premium plan.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount) Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, the series follows a girls' high-school soccer team stranded in the northern wilderness after a plane crash, told alongside the survivors' lives nearly 25 years later.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | Friday, November 20, 2026, on Paramount+ (Premium plan)[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount) |
| Status | Final season, announced October 2025[2](https://au.variety.com/2025/tv/news/yellowjackets-final-season-4-showtime-paramount-28846/) |
| Renewal | Greenlit May 20, 2025, after a record-setting season 3[3](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/showtime/shows/yellowjackets/releases) |
| Showrunners | Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount) |
| Lead cast | Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Hilary Swank, and more[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount) |
| Guest stars | June Squibb, Elijah Wood, Molly Ringwald, Devon Sawa, Sam Braun, Dulé Hill[4](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113407-paramount-releases-final-season-teaser-for-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets) |
| Filming | Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning February 2026[5](https://yellowjackets.fandom.com/wiki/Season_4) |
## Renewal and decision to end
Paramount announced the fourth-season renewal on May 20, 2025, about a month after the season 3 finale. Chris McCarthy, then co-CEO of [Paramount Global](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount-global) and president of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, called the show a cultural juggernaut and cited a season 3 that, per the announcement, shattered all previous records for the series.[3](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/showtime/shows/yellowjackets/releases) The trade press reported that the season 3 finale's audience rose 19 percent from the season 2 finale, and that season 3 was the most-watched season to date, with its finale the most-streamed episode in the show's history.[6](https://www.thewrap.com/yellowjackets-season-4-renewed-paramount-showtime/) • [2](https://au.variety.com/2025/tv/news/yellowjackets-final-season-4-showtime-paramount-28846/)
In October 2025, Showtime confirmed that season 4 would be the final season. Lyle and Nickerson said in a joint statement that they would bring the story to its "twisted conclusion" and that their responsibility was to listen when the story wanted to end.[2](https://au.variety.com/2025/tv/news/yellowjackets-final-season-4-showtime-paramount-28846/) Even before the renewal, the showrunners, alongside fellow showrunner Jonathan Lisco, had said they needed at least one more season to complete the story.[7](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/yellowjackets-season-4/)
## Production
Filming was reported in August 2025 to begin in February 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a target broadcast date of late 2026.[5](https://yellowjackets.fandom.com/wiki/Season_4) The show's social media announced on March 3, 2026, that production was underway, marked by a teaser referencing the season 3 flashback ending in which the stranded team reaches a means of escape.[8](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/yellowjackets-enters-production-on-its-fourth-and-final-season-with-a-cryptic-cannibalistic-teaser-that-hints-at-long-awaited-answers/) As of October 4, 2026, a production listing places the season in post-production, with Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson credited as writers, Drew Comins as producer, and Brad Van Arragon as line producer.[9](https://www.productionlist.com/production/yellowjackets-season-4) The series is produced for Showtime by Lionsgate Television.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount)
## Cast and characters
The season's principal cast includes Emmy nominees [Melanie Lynskey](https://www.edgepedia.org/melanie-lynskey) and [Christina Ricci](https://www.edgepedia.org/christina-ricci), Tawny Cypress, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Samantha Hanratty, Courtney Eaton, Liv Hewson, Warren Kole, Kevin Alves, Sarah Desjardins, Nia Sondaya, Jenna Burgess, and two-time Academy Award winner [Hilary Swank](https://www.edgepedia.org/hilary-swank).[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount) Nia Sondaya, who had a recurring role, was upped to series regular in February 2026, followed in March 2026 by Jenna Burgess, who plays teen Melissa.[5](https://yellowjackets.fandom.com/wiki/Season_4)
Guest stars announced for the season are [June Squibb](https://www.edgepedia.org/june-squibb), Elijah Wood, Molly Ringwald, Devon Sawa, Sam Braun, and [Dulé Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/dule-hill).[4](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113407-paramount-releases-final-season-teaser-for-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets) According to one report, Braun and Hamidi play Russell and Alex, seemingly connected to Swank's Melissa in the present-day timeline, while Hill plays a cop known as Detective Rollins.[7](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/yellowjackets-season-4/)
## Story
The season moves the wilderness timeline closer to the survivors' rescue. Paramount's official synopsis says the survivors race to bury their sins before rescue arrives, while in the present-day timeline an old flame returns to town with plans of her own; the release adds that "not every homecoming is a joyous one."[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount) The October 2025 renewal statement had already committed the writers to a proper ending rather than an open one.[2](https://au.variety.com/2025/tv/news/yellowjackets-final-season-4-showtime-paramount-28846/)
**Homecoming as the subject.** Co-creator Bart Nickerson told [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club) that part of the coming-home story concerns how people the survivors once knew now look at them differently, and that the group, constantly together after the crash, now naturally splits up, a change that shaped the season's structure.[10](https://www.avclub.com/yellowjackets-season-4-showtime-fall-tv-preview) Co-creator commentary has also pointed to a "big payoff" and to a new part of the timeline being explored, the period immediately after the survivors' return that earlier seasons had not shown.[11](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/yellowjackets-co-creator-teases-big-payoff-of-final-season-new-part-of-the-timeline-explored/) Cast commentary has echoed the closing framing: [Sophie Nélisse](https://www.edgepedia.org/sophie-nelisse), who plays teen Shauna, said in February 2026 that the cast feels responsibility to close the show while staying true to the first season.[12](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/thriller-shows/yellowjackets-star-says-they-want-to-stay-true-to-the-first-season-with-the-final-episodes-we-all-feel-a-lot-of-responsibility/)
## Promotion
Paramount+ released a date-announcement teaser on August 20, 2026, assembled alongside the premiere announcement.[1](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount) The official teaser followed on October 14, 2026, teasing the survivors home at last and haunted by the price of getting out alive.[4](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113407-paramount-releases-final-season-teaser-for-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets) The marketing campaign extended to a staged [MTV News](https://www.edgepedia.org/mtv-news) segment "reporting" the team's return and an acknowledgment by [Alanis Morissette](https://www.edgepedia.org/alanis-morissette) during an [MTV Unplugged](https://www.edgepedia.org/mtv-unplugged) performance.[4](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113407-paramount-releases-final-season-teaser-for-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets)
## References
1. [The Final Reckoning Begins: Emmy-Nominated Yellowjackets Returns for Its Final Season on November 20 on Paramount+, Paramount Press Express (August 20, 2026)](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113142-the-final-reckoning-begins-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets-returns-for-its-final-season-on-november-20-on-paramount)
2. ['Yellowjackets' to End With Season 4, Variety Australia (October 2025)](https://au.variety.com/2025/tv/news/yellowjackets-final-season-4-showtime-paramount-28846/)
3. [Paramount+ with Showtime Greenlights Season Four of Yellowjackets, Paramount Press Express (May 20, 2025)](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/showtime/shows/yellowjackets/releases)
4. [Paramount+ Releases Final Season Teaser for Emmy-Nominated Yellowjackets, Paramount Press Express (October 14, 2026)](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/yellowjackets/releases/?view=113407-paramount-releases-final-season-teaser-for-emmy-nominated-yellowjackets)
5. [Season 4, Yellowjackets Wiki (Fandom)](https://yellowjackets.fandom.com/wiki/Season_4)
6. ['Yellowjackets' Renewed for Season 4 Following Record-Setting Season 3, TheWrap (May 20, 2025)](https://www.thewrap.com/yellowjackets-season-4-renewed-paramount-showtime/)
7. [Buzz Buzz! 'Yellowjackets' Fourth and Final Season Premieres This Fall, Marie Claire (October 2026)](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/yellowjackets-season-4/)
8. [Yellowjackets enters production on its fourth and final season, GamesRadar (March 3, 2026)](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/yellowjackets-enters-production-on-its-fourth-and-final-season-with-a-cryptic-cannibalistic-teaser-that-hints-at-long-awaited-answers/)
9. [Yellowjackets (Season 4), Production List](https://www.productionlist.com/production/yellowjackets-season-4)
10. [Yellowjackets' co-creators tease the final season, The A.V. Club (October 2026)](https://www.avclub.com/yellowjackets-season-4-showtime-fall-tv-preview)
11. [Yellowjackets Co-Creator Teases "Big Payoff" of Final Season, New Part of the Timeline Explored, ComicBook.com (2026)](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/yellowjackets-co-creator-teases-big-payoff-of-final-season-new-part-of-the-timeline-explored/)
12. [Yellowjackets star says they want to "stay true to the first season", GamesRadar (February 2026)](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/thriller-shows/yellowjackets-star-says-they-want-to-stay-true-to-the-first-season-with-the-final-episodes-we-all-feel-a-lot-of-responsibility/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Screen seasons › American scripted drama series seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license