‘Yellowjackets’ Casts Simone Kessell as Adult Lottie in Season 2

Simone Kessell, Courtney Eaton as Teen Lottie in Yellowjackets
Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for AACTA; Michael Courtney/SHOWTIME

All of our questions about Lottie are about to be answered… maybe.

Simone Kessell (Obi-Wan Kenobi) has been cast as Adult Lottie Matthews for Yellowjackets Season 2. Plus, Courtney Eaton, who plays teen Lottie, has been upped to series regular. This news comes as the first season ended with the tease of adult Lottie showing up and the teen version, along with Van (Liv Hewson) and Misty (Samantha Hanratty), leaving a bear heart as a sacrifice. “What we wanted to do is really sow the seeds of the encroaching factionalization of these women in the woods,” with that moment, co-showrunner Jonathan Lisco told TV Insider.

In the present-day timeline, Natalie (Juliette Lewis) was kidnapped just as Suzie (Colleen Wheeler) left her a voicemail about being followed and asking who Lottie is. Presumably, the people who took her were Lottie’s followers, given the symbol they wore.

When Teen Lottie left the bear heart as a sacrifice, “what she says is ‘spill blood, my friends,’ in French and then she says, let the darkness set us free,” Lisco said. “And so she’s obviously latched onto something energetically bigger than herself. Whether or not it’s to protect her from her fear is one thing. But we all know that whatever ritualistic stuff is brewing inside her is meaningful to her at this moment. And many of the members of the team also thinks so because the bear prostrated itself in front of her as if she was some kind of energetic force. So now cut forward 2021. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that what started in the wilderness is still alive 25 years later, but has just been sort of on a slow boil. And now for reasons that we will explore in Season 2, it’s going to explode.”

This news comes after Lauren Ambrose has been cast as the adult Van and Hewson upped to series regular. Production will begin later in August in Vancouver. The series was also recently nominated for seven Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress for Melanie Lynskey, and Outstanding Supporting Actress for Christina Ricci.

Yellowjackets follows a team of wildly talented high school soccer players who survive a plane crash, both in the wilderness and 25 years later. It was created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, who serve as showrunners and executive producers with Lisco. Karyn Kusama also executive produced and directed the pilot. Drew Comins of Creative Engine also serves as executive producer.

Yellowjackets, Season 2 Premiere, 2023, Showtime