‘Yellowjackets’ Bonus Episode to Air Between Season 2 and Season 3

Yellowjackets Season 2 may have only just ended, but fans won’t have to wait until Season 3 for new episodes. A week after that whirlwind season finale, series co-creator Ashley Lyle confirmed on June 1 that “there will be a bonus episode between seasons.” Lyle did not say when the episode will air or offer any further details, only confirming at the time that she didn’t want fans “to lose sleep thinking it’s tonight.”

Confirmation of the bonus episode came after fans began speculating that a surprise Season 2 episode would drop on June 2, a week after the Showtime original wrapped up its most recent season. Unlike Season 1, which ran for 10 episodes, however, Season 2 only ran for nine episodes. Many fans believed that Showtime would release a previously unannounced Season 2, Episode 10 during the early-morning hours of Friday, June 2 (Season 2 episodes streamed released on the Showtime streaming app Fridays at 3 a.m. ET).

Noooo. Go to bed! Get some rest! There will be a bonus episode between seasons, but I love you guys and I don’t want y’all to lose sleep thinking it’s tonight.

— Ashley Lyle (@ashannlyle) June 2, 2023

The speculation came on the heels of growing evidence for a tenth episode. One fan noticed a listing for Yellowjackets “Episode #2.10” in April on IMDb. Just a week later, Yellowjackets costume designer Amy Parris described the characters’ appearances in “[episodes] nine and ten,” before correcting, “Or, sorry, in nine.” Meanwhile, back in March, Lyle herself tweeted there would be “nine main episodes in S2,” adding in response to a fan questioning the word “main,” “never say never to bonus eps.”

The bonus episode, which does not have a release date at this time, will come on the heels of the jaw-dropping Season 2 finale. (Warning: spoilers ahead!) During the episode, titled “Storytelling,” the surviving members of the stranded Yellowjackets soccer team delved even further into darkness amid their fight for survival, with Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) appearing to become the Antler Queen and the cabin they were living in erupting into flames in a fire seemingly set by Coach Ben (Steven Krueger). Meanwhile, in the present day timeline, things took a tragic turn when adult Misty (Christina Ricci) accidentally killed adult Natalie (Juliette Lewis).

Yellowjackets has already been renewed for Season 3 by Showtime. It seems likely that the wait for a new season will be a long one. Last month, Lyle confirmed that the Yellowjackets Season 3 writers room shutdown just a day after work began amid the Writers Guild of America’s ongoing strike. Season 3 likely won’t premiere until mid-to-late 2024 at the earliest. A release date for the Yellowjackets bonus episode hasn’t yet been announced.