Sophia Michaels
The electrifying Showtime thriller series “Yellowjackets” is back for more murder and mayhem in its second season. The show follows a high school girl’s soccer team — the titular Yellowjackets — who were on their way to the national championship when their private plane crashed in the woods. The group is then forced to do whatever it takes to survive and the surviving Yellowjackets, now adults, are dealing with the repercussions of what they had to do in order to make it out alive.
While “Yellowjackets” is not based on a true story, it does draw inspiration from the real-life Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 disaster. On October 13, 1972, the flight crashed into the Andes Mountains and the survivors were stranded for 72 days, resorting to cannibalism in order to survive. The show takes this tragedy and ratchets up the drama by having the soccer team stranded for 19 months.
Creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson have also noted that “Yellowjackets” is influenced by William Golding’s 1954 novel “Lord of the Flies,” which is about a group of boys stranded on an island. Lyle has said that she wanted to counter the idea that girls can’t be savage and will always work together, while also honoring the importance of relationships between girls. She has also revealed that iconic mobster Tony Soprano was another source of inspiration for her series.
“Yellowjackets” season two starts streaming on March 24 and airs on Showtime on Sundays.
