Get ready to go back to the woods. Paramount+ and Showtime dropped the spooky trailer for the upcoming third season of acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series Yellowjackets on Wednesday morning (Jan. 22). The first peek at the nail-biting show about a group of talented high school soccer players who survive a plane crash in the wilderness will return for a two-episode premiere on Feb. 14 on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan; the on-air debut will take place on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET.
The two-minute trailer is cued to hard rock band Drowning Pool’s signature 2001 hit, “Bodies,” as, like the show, it toggles between footage of the young women fighting for their survival in the deep woods and their still-shellshocked adult selves. “Once upon a time, a bunch of teenage girls go stranded in the wilderness,” says a voiceover, as another, ominous voice, whispers the chorus to the Drowning Pool song: “let the bodies hit the floor.”
“And they hunted their friends… feasted on their flesh and they went completely nuts,” she says as the tempo ramps up and we see the girls howling, running through the woods in pelts while wielding sharp implements and shouting “buzz, buzz, buzz” as they jump around in unison.
With allusions to the cannibalistic behavior, the grown-up versions of the players worry that the desperate lengths they went to to survive will follow them for the rest of their lives as some mysterious force appears to be stalking them in the present.
The show is led by a strong ensemble cast featuring the young players portrayed by Liv Hewson, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Courtney Eaton, Sophie Thatcher and Samantha Hanratty, while the adult versions are played by Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress, Lauren Ambrose and Simone Kessell.
A description of the upcoming season promises that, “as summer arrives, the Yellowjackets face a fragile victory — the brutal winter that nearly claimed them is finally behind them, but distrust in leadership and tension within the team jeopardize their chances of being rescued. In the present, long-buried secrets from their pasts begin to surface. As the women fight to keep their lives from unraveling, they must confront a chilling question: who are they really, and what dark truths are they hiding from each other and themselves?”
Joining the cast this year will be Oscar-winner Hilary Swank and comedian/actor Joel McHale, with Elijah Wood returning in his recurring guest role.
The first two seasons of the show featured a driving title track and score composed by That Dog./Shudder to Think veterans Anna Waronker and Craig Wedren, which was later covered and released as a single by Alanis Morissette. The show also featured a barrage of classic 1980s-1990s alt rock songs, including classics from Morissette, Smashing Pumpkins, Liz Phair, Hole, Wilson Phillips, Portishead, Belly, Wreckx-N-Effect, Ace of Base, Enya, as well as Nirvana, the Cranberries, Pulp, Veruca Salt, Papa Roach, Elliott Smith, Garbage, Tori Amos, 4 Non Blondes, Madonna, N.W.A. and many more.
Watch the Yellowjackets season 3 trailer below.