EXCLUSIVE: Molly Ringwald (One Night Only, Sixteen Candles) has joined the recurring cast of the Showtime series Yellowjackets for its fourth and final season. Sources tell Deadline she will play Van’s (Lauren Ambrose, Liv Hewson) mom, Vicky, a recently recovered alcoholic trying her best to course correct her past.
Ringwald’s casting as Van’s mother comes at an interesting time, after the adult version of Van (Ambrose) was tragically killed last season. Could Vicky be looking for answers about her daughter’s death? Or perhaps we’ll see her in the ‘90s timeline after teen Van (Hewson) and the Yellowjackets finally get rescued and return to their lives in New Jersey.
Either way, the Brat Pack alum’s casting fits the show’s nostalgic formula, with former teen stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s filling out the adult ensemble over its first three seasons, including Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Ambrose, and Hilary Swank.
Created and executive produced by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, Yellowjackets tells the saga of a team of talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness.
Equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, the series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage 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.
In addition to the above, the cast also includes Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher and Courtney Eaton.
Yellowjackets is produced by Lionsgate Television and Creative Engine. Season 3 executive producers include Lyle, Nickerson and Jonathan Lisco. Drew Comins of Creative Engine also served as executive producer along with Jeff W. Byrd, Sarah L. Thompson, Ameni Rozsa and Brad Van Arragon. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Glenn Garner contributed to this report.
