Shortly after bringing all six seasons ofLostto its streaming service, Netflix has also addedYellowjacketsseason 1, which offers a thrilling ongoing series to replace the iconic sci-fi mystery show.Lostremains one of the biggest TV phenomena in recent history, with the twisty series being well known for its complex themes, timeline jumping, survivalist conflicts, and often horrifying sci-fi shocks each season. SinceLost’s divisive endingin 2010, there’s been a search for a new show to fill in the twist-heavy, survival mystery thriller story gap that it left on TV, andYellowjacketsprovides a worthy answer.
The critically acclaimed series debuted on Showtime in the fall of 2021 and quickly became a hit due toYellowjackets’ all-star cast, compelling mysteries, and terrifying dual-timeline premise. Reflecting its enduring success,Yellowjacketsis now preparing to release season 3 in 2025, but before the next highly-anticipated installments arrive, the horror show is set to enjoy a resurgence in popularity on Netflix. Though finally making its way to the streaming service three years after its premiere,Yellowjacketsseason 1 finally became available to watch on Netflix starting July 10, 2025.
Yellowjackets Season 1 Is Now Streaming On Netflix & It’s A Brilliant Lost Follow-Up
Yellowjackets & Lost Share Many Thematic & Story Similarities
Kicking off similarly toLostseason 1,Yellowjackets’ story begins in 1996 when a high school girls’ soccer team’s plane crasheson their way to the national championships. Their plane crashes in a remote area of the Canadian wilderness, leaving the teens stranded with their assistant coach as the only adult. Meanwhile,Yellowjackets’ present timelinefollows a few survivors as adults in 2021, with the characters back in real society being forced to reckon with their desperate actions in the wilderness, the secrets they still must keep, and the supernatural horrors that still follow them 25 years later.
Yellowjacketsis not simply a rehashing of Lost, but many of the elements of the 2000s-era show that made it so captivating and popular are baked into the core of the 2020s series.
Yellowjackets’ similarities toLostaren’t confined to being just another plane crash survival story, as the supernatural mysteries, timeline hopping, and reckoning with the forces and people who preceded them at the crash site allow for plenty of apt comparisons. Truly capturing the shocking nature ofLost’s many mysteries,Yellowjacketstakes these terrors to the next levelby introducing cannibalism into its harrowing survival story. That said,Yellowjacketsis not simply a rehashing ofLost, but many of the elements of the 2000s-era show that made it so captivating and popular are baked into the core of the 2020s series.
10 Biggest Questions & Mysteries Yellowjackets Season 3 Needs To Answer
While the Yellowjackets season 2 finale cleared up a ton of lingering questions, there are plenty of mysteries that need to be solved in season 3.
Given the younger ages of the characters on the plane that crashes inYellowjackets, the show is often compared to William Golding’sThe Lord of the Fliesnovel with aLost-reminiscent approach. While both series doubtlessly took inspiration from the classic book,YellowjacketsandLosttackle the supernatural far more in their themes, and explore what the aftermath of escaping that situation means for those who survive. Still,Yellowjacketsalso hinges more on the themes of gothic American horror, which has invited comparisons toTwin Peaksfor both the past and present timelines.
How Yellowjackets' Success & Story Compare To Lost
Yellowjackets Parallels Lost Seasons 1 & 2’s Critical Success
When looking at their obvious connection,among the biggest difference betweenLostandYellowjacketsis that the latter is largely a female-focused story, detailing the past experiences of the teen girls’ soccer team and those survivors in the present. Of course, there are still male characters like Coach Ben, Travis, and Javi in the wilderness, as well as Jeff, Adam, Kevyn, and Walter in the present, who play integral roles in the show’s conflicts and mysteries. Plus, whileLost’s island-stranded characters did resort to some horrifying survival tactics, that didn’t include thecannibalism seen inYellowjackets’ pilot.
Yellowjacketsleaning deeper into the horror genre has been a major source of praise for the series, contributing to its stellar reviews from critics and popularity with audiences.Overall,Yellowjacketsholds a 96% score onRotten Tomatoes, with season 1 boasting a 100% rating while season 2 has a 93% rating. The show’s quality has remained strong over the first two seasons, which is comparable to how the critical success ofLostkicked off.
10 Harsh Realities Of Watching Lost Season 1, 20 Years Later
September 2024 marks twenty years of Lost. It’s one of the best TV shows of all time, but season 1 has some notable flaws in retrospect.
WhereasYellowjacketshas been celebrated for leaning more into its horror,Lostreceived substantial praise for diving deeper into its sci-fi genre elements.Overall,Lostholds an 86% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with some inconsistency in acclaim across the show’s six seasons.Lostseason 1 boasts a 96% score, followed by 100% for season 2, 75% for season 3, 89% for season 4, 92% for season 5, and a series-low 69% for season 6. Given the infamously divisive reaction to its ending,Lostseason 6’s low score isn’t too shocking.
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Meanwhile, it’s difficult to directly compareLostandYellowjackets’ viewership success, given the former was a massive hit on cable TV while the latter debuted after the streaming boom.Yellowjacketsseason 1’s success is underscored by being the second-most-viewed Showtime seriesbehind theirDexter: New Bloodreboot, even setting a record for Showtime by averaging over 5 million weekly viewers (viaDeadline). By comparison,Lostaveraged 15.7 million viewers for season 1, 15.5 million for season 2, 17.8 million for season 3, 13.4 million for season 4, 10.9 million for season 5, and 10.1 million for season 6.
Where To Watch Yellowjackets Season 2 Before Season 3’s 2025 Release
Yellowjackets Season 2 Isn’t Streaming On Netflix
So far, onlyYellowjacketsseason 1 has made it to streaming on Netflix. In the meantime,Yellowjacketsseason 2 is available to stream via the Paramount+ with Showtimebundle.Yellowjacketsseason 2 ended in May 2023, so the sophomore season is available to stream in full through Paramount+ add-ons or the direct platform. While an official date has yet to be revealed by Showtime or Paramount+, it’s been confirmed thatYellowjacketsseason 3 will premiere in 2025.
Netflix has yet to announce whetherYellowjacketsseason 2 will become available on its streaming service.
Yellowjackets
Cast
Yellowjackets is a television series exploring the survival ordeal of a high school girls' soccer team stranded in the remote wilderness after a plane crash. It interweaves psychological horror and coming-of-age themes, simultaneously depicting their harrowing transformation and its lasting impact on their lives 25 years later.
Lost
Lost is a mystery drama series created for TV that follows a group of survivors of a plane crash and tells its story between the past, present, and future via flashbacks. When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashes and lands on a mysterious island in the pacific ocean, the castaways discover their new temporary home may have a mind of its own, as strange supernatural events keep them locked to the island. From an unknown black smoke creature to dangerous islanders, the passengers must work together to survive the island’s seemingly deadly intentions.
