Showtime’s Emmy-nominated survival drama ‘Yellowjackets’ has revealed another teenage cast member who survives to the present day.
Lauren Ambrose has joined the cast of the breakout series from creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. Ambrose will play the adult version of Van, the 1990s-set teenage character played by Liv Hewson. As part of Thursday’s announcement, the premium cable network also revealed that Hewson has been promoted to series regular.
The casting arrives after the January freshman season finale opened the door for additional surviving members of the Yellowjackets team in the show’s present-day storyline. Nickerson and Lyle, in an hourlong interview with TV’s Top 5, said the adult version of Lottie would be among the new characters introduced in season two.
Adult Ali, the Yellowjacket whose leg Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) broke in the pilot, will also be among those likely to return. “In terms of other survivors, we plant the flag that Lottie (Courtney Eaton) is lurking in the shadows and meeting her in the near future. Ideally, we will probably meet at least one other,” Lyle said.
Ambrose joins cast members including Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Tawney Cypress. The 1990s-set soccer team counts stars including Hewson, Ella Purnell, Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, Brown and Sophie Nelisse. Lyle, Nickerson and Jonathan Lisco serve as exec producers and showrunners.
Season two is poised to begin production Aug. 30. A return date has not yet been announced.
Ambrose’s credits include Apple’s Servant, The X-Files, Torchwood, Dig and Law & Order. She’s repped by UTA, MGMT Entertainment and Sloane Offer. The Can’t Hardly Wait alum also continues the Yellowjackets track record of casting ’90s stars. Her casting was also among several suggestions for the adult Van that the Yellowjackets hive made online.
