Of the brand new shows currently airing in the early weeks of 2022, Showtime's Yellowjackets is unquestionably one of the most, ahem, buzzy. Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, best known for their work on The Originals, the series has earned near universal acclaim, and has become an obsession for many genre fans. Searching social media yields a great deal of messages sharing love for it from audiences, and now putting his voice into the conversation is horror legend Stephen King.
King makes a regular habit of posting his opinions on the television and movies that he is currently watching, and his latest bit of praise has been given to Yellowjackets. Writing on his personal Twitter page, the author highlights the mystery, survival story, and the moments of horror – but adds emphasis pointing to the "sharp characterization" and "mordant sense of humor" as elements he doesn't see in a lot of current shows:
YELLOWJACKETS is a hell of a good survival story, a hell of a good mystery story, and has its fair share of horrifying moments. What it's also got--so many current shows don't--is sharp characterization and a mordant sense of humor.January 7, 2022
Getting set to air the ninth episode of its ten-episode first season, Yellowjackets is a show with a narrative split between two time periods: the early 1990s and the present. In the former, an elite high school soccer team from New Jersey is in a plane crash while on their way to a national tournament, and they find themselves miles from anywhere lost in the Appalachian mountains. In the latter, the survivors of the disaster try to get past the trauma while hiding the secrets of how they managed to stay alive.
The series features an amazing cast with Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci playing the principal characters as adults, and the supporting cast is filled with exciting young performers including Ella Purnell, Sophie Nélisse, Sophie Thatcher, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Samantha Hanratty.
Yellowjackets is most definitely not for squeamish audiences, as noted by Stephen King via his "fair share of horrifying moments" comment, but it's the author's appreciation of the tone that stands out most in his sentiments. A significant part of what makes King's work so phenomenal is his ability to make readers both laugh and scream, and that's something that the Showtime series does exceptionally well also.
If you're at all concerned about the mystery aspect of Yellowjackets and worried that it might not get a real conclusion, it should be noted that the series has already be renewed for a Season 2 – and you should really catch up with everything that's going on before somebody accidentally spoils it for you.
The ninth episode of Yellowjackets, titled "Doomcoming," will air on Showtime this Sunday, January 9 at 10pm local time, and the finale will debut on Sunday, January 16. If you wish to catch up, everything that has aired is currently available to watch with a Showtime Now subscription.
To learn about everything else set to hit the small screen this season, scope out our 2022 TV Premiere Dates guide.
