‘Yellowjackets’ Plans Bonus Episode as Season Two Chaser

Yellowjackets fans won’t have to wait until season three for a new episode. One of the show’s co-creators, Ashley Lyle, tweeted on Thursday that a standalone episode — similar to Euphoria’s bonus episodes or the U.K. edition of The Office’s Christmas episodes — is on the way before a new season can start. No firm details such as air date or plot are available, though.

When a fan tweeted that they would be staying up late in hopes of a bonus episode, Lyle said to get some rest instead. “There will be a bonus episode between seasons, but I love you guys and I don’t want y’all to lose sleep thinking it’s tonight,” she wrote.

The ninth and last episode of season two aired on Sunday, but actor Jason Ritter (and husband of star Melanie Lynskey), who was slated to make a guest appearance in the season, never showed, which both confused and concerned fans and prompted the inquiries about additional episodes. The series was also supposed to feature 10 episodes like the first season. (But, of course, Ritter hasn’t been confirmed to make an appearance in the bonus episode.)

As Entertainment Tonight noted, Yellowjackets’ writers were only a day into Season Three planning when the WGA started its strike, meaning that nothing new would have been produced. But there could still be plenty of material to work with. “There was stuff in some of the episodes that they filmed that didn’t make it on the show,” actor Kevin Alves, who plays Travis, has said, according to ET. “And that several longer scenes were trimmed down in the final cut.”

Earlier this year, one of Yellowjackets’ stars, Christina Ricci, told Rolling Stone that preparing for the second season came with challenges. “The writing for your character changes, and you have to figure out how to maintain your character while they’re in really different situations — even the physical differences,” she said. For instance, she wasn’t expecting to work with Elijah Wood. “I did all this press talking about how I thought she was not interested in men and would never have had a relationship, and then they’re like, ‘Bam! Season Two, love interest!’” she said, referring to her character’s relationship with Wood’s character. “I was thrown off by the idea, and whether the characters do become romantically involved or not is something to be discovered as people watch this. But if I had to have any love interest as this character, I’m so happy it’s Elijah.”