Stephen King's Review of Yellowjackets: Funny, Mysterious & Horrifying
Horror-icon Stephen King has shared his thoughts on Showtime's hit thriller series Yellowjackets. Set simultaneously in 1996 and 2021, the show follows a high-school soccer team that suffers a terrible plane crash while traveling to Seattle for a tournament. Yellowjackets takes place across two parallel narratives and the story follows how each member of the team struggles to survive in the immediate aftermath of the crash as well as their lives as adults 25 years later, living in the shadow of their horrifying experience. With different actors playing the teenage and adult versions of the characters, the series features an ensemble cast including Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, and Juliette Lewis.
Since its first episode aired back in November, Yellowjackets has received critical acclaim. With show-creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson largely inspired by real-life tragedies like the Andes Flight Disaster and the Donner Party, the program has garnered particular praise for its psychological realism and blending of genres. Thanks to this flood of positive publicity, Yellowjackets season 2 has been renewed by Showtime ahead of its season 1 finale, which is due to air on January 16.
Outside its critical success, Yellowjackets has also consistently proven itself to be a highly popular series with audiences. As a result, it has also earned itself a number of celebrity fans, with Anna Kendrick desperate for some Yellowjackets merchandise. Now, the head-honcho of horror himself has weighed in with his review. Sharing his thoughts on Twitter, King gives the series quite the glowing appraisal before going on to criticize other modern shows for not following its example:
King's thoughts on the Showtime drama will definitely sound familiar to anyone who has been following the growing popularity of the show. But whilst it may not come as a massive shock to some that he is a fan of the mystery-thriller-horror series given his bibliography, it's clear that the author has been somewhat dissatisfied lately with what much of television drama has to offer. Despite this, King has had a busy year himself with four TV adaptations of his work having made their way to the small screen in 2021 and more set to come over the next 12 months.
Whenever a new TV series or film is looking to gain that extra dollop of publicity, it never hurts to have some kind of celebrity endorsement in their corner. But while King is certainly known for voicing his reviews online, there is perhaps an additional level of validation offered to the team behind Yellowjackets with this appraisal given his status as perhaps the authority on horror-writing. Regardless, it will certainly provide more of an incentive for any fans of the writer who have yet to watch the series into giving it a chance.
Source: Stephen King