Everybody’s favorite cannibalistic soccer team is staying stranded in the woods for a little longer. “Yellowjackets” has been renewed for a third season, Showtime announced Thursday.

The news comes more than three months before the thriller series returns for Season 2 on March 26. The series, which comes from creators and married couple Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, proved a breakout success for the premium cable channel when it premiered in November 2021, averaging over five million viewers per episode and getting a Season 2 renewal five episodes into the season.

“With ‘Yellowjackets’ runaway success in Season 1 and the pent-up anticipation for Season 2, we wanted to maximize the momentum by fast-tracking Season 3 now,” Showtime President Chris McCarthy said in a statement. “The show’s ambition is only exceeded by its execution, and I thank the incredible creative team behind it, including Ashley, Bart, Jonathan, eOne and the Showtime team, for turning this into such a success.”

“Yellowjackets” follows a high school soccer team in 1996 who get stranded in the woods after a plane crash and are forced to fend for themselves to survive for 19 months. The series also focuses on several survivors 25 years later as they contend with the secrets from their time in the wilderness. Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis star as the adult versions of Shauna, Taissa, Misty, and Natalie, while Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sammi Hanratty, and Sophie Thatcher play their teen counterparts. The Season 1 cast also featured Ella Purnell, Steven Krueger, and Warren Kole, with Liv Hewson, Courtney Eaton, and Kevin Alves in recurring roles.

For Season 2, Hewson, Eaton, and Alves are all promoted to main cast members, while Lauren Ambrose and Simone Kessell are set to join the series as the adult versions of Hewson and Eaton’s characters. Elijah Wood will recur throughout the season as Walter, a “citizen detective.”

Since its debut, “Yellowjackets” has received critical acclaim, with praise for the writing, directing, and cast. The series received seven Emmy nominations, including Best Drama Series, while Lynskey won the Critics Choice Award for best drama actress. In her review of the series’ first season, IndieWire’s Kristen Lopez wrote that the show “is all kinds of fun, focused on a messy story and the messy people that rose from the ashes of it.”

Lyle and Nickerson showrun “Yellowjackets” with Jonathan Lisco, and the three executive produce with Drew Comins of Creative Engine. Entertainment One produces the series for Showtime.

Deadline first reported that “Yellowjackets” is renewed for Season 3.

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