Long live the legacy of Tony Soprano.
The titular mob boss of HBO’s “The Sopranos” has been a cited influence on everything from “Better Call Saul” to “Avatar: The Way of Water,” but the particular breed of beloved antihero that Tony embodies marks a direct inspiration for “Yellowjackets” Season 2.
Creators and co-showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson discussed how humanizing the cannibalism, murder, and trauma endured by the core “Yellowjackets” characters, played by Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis, has roots to Tony himself.
“Tony Soprano is an absolute monster — but, because he’s so well drawn, you understand him. That’s what we’re aiming for,” Lyle told The Hollywood Reporter. “We have conversations about what could be too far, but it’s less about likability for the characters and more about the type of story. We never want to be shocking and salacious for the sheer joy of it.”
Co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco similarly teased to Entertainment Weekly that cannibalism is just the “tip of the iceberg” of the horrors that the surviving soccer team commits.
“If we do our job right, the eating of a person will not be the most transgressive thing that these young women do in the wilderness,” Lisco said. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. If season 1 was about our teen characters learning to adapt to their harsh surroundings, season 2 is where it all just really explodes. Each one of them is gonna make choices that they never dreamed possible. And, and as we cut forward 25 years, we’re gonna watch those terrible actions surface in ways that I would say irrevocably changed the fate of their lives.”
Cypress additionally confirmed that the cannibal series will not cross certain moral boundaries…despite some BFFs landing in a BBQ or the Antler Queen being shown hunting a teammate for a sacrificial meal.
“They’re not going to eat the baby,” Cypress confirmed of Shauna’s (Sophie Nélisse) child, adding a nod to her Taissa character’s gripping twist in the Season 1 finale. “But beheading dogs? Totally.”
Season 2 will also introduce audiences to the respective adult versions of Van (Lauren Ambrose) and Lottie (Simone Kessell). For all the details on “Yellowjackets” Season 2, click here.
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