JULIETTE LEWIS AND CHRISTINA RICCI JOIN 'YELLOWJACKETS' AS SHOWTIME DRAMA PILOT ROUNDS OUT CAST
Ella Purnell, Sophie Nélisse, Sammi Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, Steven Krueger And
Amy Okuda Also Join The Coming-Of-Age Survival Epic
LOS ANGELES – November 19, 2019 – SHOWTIME has announced that Oscar®, Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominee Juliette Lewis (Camping) and Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Christina Ricci (Z: The Beginning of Everything) have joined the hour-long drama pilot YELLOWJACKETS as series regulars, along with Ella Purnell (Sweetbitter), Sammi Hanratty (SHAMELESS), Sophie Thatcher (Prospect), Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief), Steven Krueger (The Originals) and Amy Okuda (Atypical). They join previously announced cast Melanie Lynskey (Castle Rock), Tawny Cypress (Unforgettable) and Jasmin Savoy Brown (The Leftovers). Produced for SHOWTIME by Entertainment One (eOne), YELLOWJACKETS was created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos), who are executive producing and serving as showrunners. Karyn Kusama (Destroyer) will executive produce and direct the pilot. Drew Comins of Creative Engine also serves as executive producer.
Lewis and Thatcher star as adult and teen versions of Natalie. Despite her natural talent, Natalie's punk rock spirit and habit of finding trouble make her the unlikeliest member of the team. As an adult, Natalie struggles to quiet the demons that still haunt her from her time in the wilderness. Lewis is best known for her Oscar and Golden Globe nominated performance in Cape Fear, and starring roles in Husbands and Wives, Kalifornia, Romeo Is Bleeding, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Natural Born Killers, From Dusk Till Dawn, Conviction and Whip It. Her television credits include I Know This Much is True, Camping, The Conners and Secrets and Lies. Thatcher’s film credits include Prospect and The Tomorrow Man.
Ricci and Hanratty will play adult and teen versions of Misty, the Yellowjackets' equipment manager. Eager to please and easy to overlook, Misty's abundance of team spirit belies a hidden dark side. Ricci most recently starred in Z: The Beginning of Everything, for which she also served as executive producer. In film, she starred in critically acclaimed roles in Black Snake Moan, Monster, The Ice Storm and The Opposite of Sex, for which she earned Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominations. Additional film credits include Bel Ami, Penelope, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Sleepy Hollow, Mermaids, Now and Then, The Addams Family and Casper. Hanratty has starred in recurring roles on SHAMELESS, Salem, Chosen and Pushing Daisies.
Purnell will play Jackie, the Yellowjackets' magnetically charismatic, effortlessly popular, occasionally entitled team captain. Purnell is best known for her starring roles in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Sweetbitter. Additional credits include Maleficent and Kickass 2.
Nélisse will play Lynskey’s counterpart as the teen version of Shauna. Nélisse is best known for her lead role in the critically acclaimed feature The Book Thief, along with feature roles in Monsieur Lazhar, Pawn Sacrifice and 1:54. Additional film credits include 47 Meters Down: Uncaged and The Great Gilly Hopkins.
Krueger joins as Ben Scott, the assistant coach and the object of many an unrequited crush. Krueger is best known for his role in The Originals and for guest roles on Pretty Little Liars and Two and a Half Men.
Okuda will play Cat Wheeler, a history teacher recruited to bolster the female presence on the coaching staff, despite knowing literally nothing about soccer. Okuda's credits include recurring roles on How To Get Away With Murder, Atypical, The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Written by Lyle and Nickerson, YELLOWJACKETS is equal parts survival epic, horror story and coming-of-age drama and tells the narrative of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the Ontario wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to warring, cannibalistic 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.
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