Showtime Orders Drama Pilot YELLOWJACKETS

SHOWTIME has announced a pilot order for the hour-long drama series YELLOWJACKETS, with creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos) executive producing and serving as showrunners. Karyn Kusama (Destroyer) will executive produce and direct the pilot, a co-production of Showtime and Entertainment One (eOne) taking place in Los Angeles this fall. The announcement was made today by Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, Presidents of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

Written by Lyle and Nickerson, YELLOWJACKETS is equal parts survival epic, horror story and coming-of-age drama and tells the narrative of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the Ontario wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to warring, cannibalistic 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.

"YELLOWJACKETS is a fascinating, genre-spanning story that will resonate with viewers young and old," said Winograde. "With a background helming projects that visit the places of both our wildest dreams and worst nightmares, Karyn is the perfect director to bring Ashley and Bart's wonderful script to life."

Kusama has directed television series including BILLIONS, THE L WORD, MASTERS OF SEX, Halt and Catch Fire, Casual and The Man in the High Castle. On the big screen, her credits include Destroyer, The Invitation, Jennifer's Body, Aeon Flux and Girlfight, which she also wrote and for which she was nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for best first feature. YELLOWJACKETS will be the first pilot of Kusama's directing career.

Lyle and Nickerson most recently served as co-executive producers of the upcoming Dispatches From Elsewhere while writing multiple episodes. Prior to that, they served as producer-writers on Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, and writers on The Originals.

Produced by eOne and SHOWTIME, YELLOWJACKETS is executive produced by Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson and Karyn Kusama with Drew Comins of Creative Engine.

Photo Credit: Robin Holland

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