EXCLUSIVE: The Season 2 finale of Yellowjackets was a buzzy one for Showtime.
The season came to an end over the weekend, alongside the series finales for HBO’s Succession and Barry. The finale episode drew 1.5M total viewers over its premiere weekend based on Nielsen, comScore, and internal streaming data.
Episodes of Yellowjackets were available on the Showtime app on Friday, before airing on the linear network on Sunday nights. This data encapsulates viewing throughout that viewing period.
The Season 2 finale marks the second most-streamed Showtime original season finale ever, behind only Dexter: New Blood.
By comparison, the Season 1 finale of Yellowjackets drew 1.3M viewers across platforms. The Season 2 closer had a 7% gain in cross-platform viewership versus the Season 1 finale, and streaming was up 50%.
Season 2 debuted to 2M viewers across platforms during its premiere weekend, which grew to 4M in the week after it was made available. That was Showtime’s best debut for a second installment that the network has seen in more than 10 years. It’s fairly typical for a linear series to lose same-day (or in this case, same-weekend) viewers over the course of a season, and delayed viewing will likely give a better picture of how the finale fared as audiences catch up.
Season 1, which earned a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and received seven Emmy nominations, averaged more than 5M weekly viewers across platforms, the highest for a freshman series on the network in almost six years, since Billions in early 2016. It was the second-most streamed series in Showtime history.
Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos), Yellowjackets stars Melanie Lynskey (Castle Rock), Juliette Lewis (Camping), Christina Ricci (Z: The Beginning of Everything) and Tawny Cypress (Unforgettable). Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under, Servant) and Simone Kessell (Obi-Wan Kenobi) have also joined the second season as series regulars, along with Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) in a season long guest arc.
Equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, Yellowjackets is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the unlucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.
Season 2 also stars Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief), Jasmin Savoy Brown (The Leftovers), Sophie Thatcher (Prospect), Samantha Hanratty (SHAMELESS), Courtney Eaton (Mad Max: Fury Road), Liv Hewson (Santa Clarita Diet), Steven Krueger (The Originals), Warren Kole (Shades of Blue) and Kevin Alves.
Yellowjackets is executive produced by Lyle, Nickerson and fellow showrunner Jonathan Lisco. Drew Comins of Creative Engine also serves as executive producer. Karyn Kusama directed the pilot.