Yellowjackets Showrunner Shares The Most Disturbing Theory She’s Heard

The showrunner of Yellowjackets recalls one of the most unsettling fan theories she’s read. Premiering on Showtime last November, Yellowjackets is a mystery thriller that unfolds in two separate timelines. Half of the show is set in 1996, as a girl’s high school soccer team suffers a harrowing plane crash that leaves the survivors stranded in the northern wilderness. The other half picks up the story decades later, in the present, to show how those who went through the ordeal still struggle with the psychological ramifications of what they’ve been through.

Since its debut late last year, Yellowjackets has been something of an example of how a series can still build an audience in a crowded television landscape. Yellowjackets season 1 began with a fair amount of anticipation, thanks to its intriguing premise and a cast that includes the likes of Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci. But, over the course of 10 episodes, the new drama experienced a big jump in popularity that culminated with Yellowjackets claiming the title of Showtime’s most-watched season 1 in six years.

In an interview with TV’s Top 5 podcast, following the eventful Yellowjackets season 1 finale, co-creators and showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson discussed the success and the future of their hit thriller. At one point, discussing the theorizing of the avid Yellowjackets fandom, Lyle said she was heartened by all the smart conversations and ideas that viewers come up with. Still, she noted that she was “unsettled” by the popular theory that Shauna (Lynskey) is actually Adam’s (Peter Gadiot) mother. It’s understandable, since the two characters are having an affair in the present-day timeline which, as Lyle says, would be extremely problematic. Read the showrunner’s quote below.

“I think that it’s been really impressive and really exciting to watch people theorize. There’s been wild creativity, sometimes. Sometimes I’m like… ’Wow, you guys are going deep. I think the one that I was a little unsettled by was, there was a fairly popular theory for a while, that Adam was going to actually be Shauna’s baby. And I was like, you guys, that’s messed up.”

Of all the Yellowjackets theories that have been debunked, Adam being Shauna’s long-lost son would have been too much of a soapy twist. But, as Lyle goes to say in the same interview, fans are correct to wonder about what exactly happened to the baby that Shauna is pregnant with in the wilderness. In the present timeline, Shauna does have a daughter with her husband Jeff (Warren Kole). However, her daughter Callie’s (Sarah Desjardins) age is very different from what the age of her first baby would have been in 2021.

What happened to Shauna’s baby after the team’s wilderness experience is one of the many questions that the already-renewed Yellowjackets season 2 will have to answer. But it’s worth keeping in mind that for as ambiguous as the thriller’s season 1 got, and for as creepy as some of its most memorable scenes were, Yellowjackets is also fairly grounded in its own way. Some viewers even complained that the present-day storyline was fairly mundane compared to the chaos of stranded teenagers in the wilderness, leading to a tonal disconnect at certain points. The Yellowjackets season 1 finale did go some distance to bridge that gap, potentially making the present just as chaotic. But still, unintended incestual relationships might be a bridge too far.

Source: TV’s Top 5

About The Author

Abdullah Al-Ghamdi
(1121 Articles Published)

Abdullah Al-Ghamdi joined Screen Rant in August 2019, focusing on movie and television news. In January of the same year, he wrote a 3500+ word piece on why Primo Colón is underrated. He considers it his finest work. When he’s not arguing for the merits of his favorite wrestler, he can be reached at: [email protected].

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