One of the best TV shows of all time lands on Netflix today

If a nightmarish survival scenario, dual timelines, hints of the supernatural, and a cast of fascinatingly complicated characters sound like a fun time, then you're in for a treat. One of the best seasons of television I've seen in years has just landed on Netflix and for me it's a must-watch television series.

Yellowjackets first aired in 2022 on Showtime, where it quickly gained a cult following thanks to its twisty story and compelling cast. The series follows a high school girls soccer team across two different timelines.

In the first case, the girls end up in a huge wilderness on the way to a soccer tournament. Here they are faced not only with hunger and the elements, but also with strange visions, scary discoveries and other terrifying encounters that often leave both the characters and the audience wondering whether supernatural forces are at play or whether there are more mundane explanations for it all the bizarre are things that happen. The mystery is captivating.

In the second timeline, we follow some of the girls decades later. We know that at least some of the characters survive, but we're not entirely sure who or, perhaps more importantly,How. These middle-aged survivors have deep, dark secrets and harbor old griefs and terrible guilt. Little by little, both stories unfold in parallel. It's one of the most menacing and gripping seasons of television I've ever seen, with plenty of shocking revelations, sordid betrayals and even a welcome dose of humor.

However, it's the cast that really elevates the show. Ella Purnell (Fallout, Arcane) plays Jackie, the captain of the soccer team and a natural leader who is out of her element in the wilderness. She is best friends with Shauna (Sophie Nelisse), but their friendship is tested as they fight for survival. Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) is the black sheep of the team and probably my favorite character in the series. Other teenage survivors include Travis (Kevin Alves), Lottie (Courtney Eaton), Van (Liv Hewson) and Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) – as well as Misty (Sammi Hanratty), who I can only describe as the Joker, although she might there are more than one. The team's assistant coach, Ben (Steven Krueger), also survives the crash, although he is a changed person.

Meanwhile, in the modern timeline, we mostly follow Shauna (Melanie Lynksey), Taissa (Tawny Cypress), Natalie (Juliette Lewis) and Misty (Christina Ricci). As I said, it's an outstanding cast. The actors in both time series are phenomenal and both stories – which are intertwined in fascinating ways – are great from start to finish, each with their own secrets to unravel and disasters to endure.

Additionally, the original music for the first season of the series is one of the most haunting and immersive scores I have ever heard on a television show.

Only Season 1 is currently available on Netflix, and I have to make a pretty big caveat here: the first season is much, much better than the second, which continues to air on Showtime/Paramount+, although it will appear on Netflix at a later date. Honestly, as a standalone season Yellowjackets is absolutely brilliant and one of my favorite modern television shows. The second season wasn't all bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first, and it really felt like many aspects of the story fell apart in spectacular ways. I think I was so disappointed because I was such a big fan of the first season. But the Season 2 finale really upset me, unlike the brilliant Season 1 finale (which wasn't even the best episode).

I still recommend you watch the first season, and if you like it, you can still form your own opinion about season 2. I'm still hoping that Season 3 gets the series back on track, but no matter what, I'll always be a superfan of the first season, which I've already seen three times. It's one of the best female-led shows out there, mostly because it never dwells on silly girlboss themes and treats each of its characters like well-rounded (and deeply flawed) people. It's great. Do yourself a favor and give it a try. It also made it to my list of the best TV shows of 2022:

Update 02/10/24

Since then, this post has gotten quite a bit of traction and hopefully people will pick up on it Yellowjackets Now that it's available on Netflix, I'd like to draw your attention to another truly top-notch supernatural thriller series that I continue to hope makes it to Netflix as well.

OUT OF is currently only available on MGM+, but the series' first season can be watched with a Prime Video subscription. I subscribe to MGM+ through Prime Video and that is the only place you can watch the second season and the currently airing third season.

The show is the closest thing you can get Lost However, there are successors Yellowjackets has some Lost also vibrations – plane crash, survivors, supernatural mysteries and so on. OUT OF, However, it feels more like this Lost and even features some of the creatives behind this hit ABC series. Jack Bender, who directed some Lost best episodes, is one of the producers of the series. Bender has been involved in other great shows including The sopranos And Game of Thrones.

Harold Perrineau is probably the biggest draw. Perrineau played Michael Dawson Lost But his character often felt lacking and was pushed aside for other storylines. Here he plays Boyd Stevens, the main protagonist of the series, and we can really see his acting skills.

Without giving too much away, the story of OUT OF is about a strange, nameless town – which I call Fromville – where people land and can never leave. At night, fearsome monsters come out and hunt anyone unfortunate enough to be caught outside – or gullible enough to open their doors.

The show is full of mystery, suspense, a cast of great characters and lots of terror. It's much scarier than LOST But it has the same big secret that keeps you on your toes every week. And different than LOST, The creators of the series have drawn up a five-season plan, so we can expect or at least hope for a satisfactory ending.

If you have Prime Video, please do yourself a favor and watch the first season. It's not perfect. For one thing, the show drops too many F-bombs and the characters have an annoying tendency to not communicate properly with each other, but I still love it, warts notwithstanding. And so far, the third season is shaping up to be the best yet and is already improving on the problems I listed. Try it and let me know what you think!

It's a terrible title for a TV show though, right? Hard to google!

Other shows I've been watching lately if you need more recommendations (and these are all I highly recommend):

• Just murders in the building Season 4 on Hulu is the best season since the first season. A great, charming, cozy crime thriller set in NYC, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez.
• Bad monkey on Apple TV is my surprise show of 2024. Vince Vaughn is at his best in this hilarious mystery comedy set in the Florida Keys. The first season is almost over and I am absolutely thrilled.
• Slow horses on Apple TV has just finished its fourth season and, as always, it is the best spy show on television. Gary Oldman remains as delightful as ever as the foul-mouthed but brilliant Jackson Lamb. What a gem.
• Agatha all the time on Disney+ is surprisingly good WandaVision Consequence. Not as good as these others, but charming and entertaining and a nice change of pace for Marvel.
• The Legend of Vox Machina is an animated fantasy series for adults full of laughs and funny fight scenes and a really great cast. It's based on the Critical Role D&D campaign and is just a lot of fun. The third season is released this week on Prime Video.

Did you watch? Yellowjackets? What did you think? let me know TwitterInstagram or Facebook. Also, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.