Yellowjackets

What’s it about?

This psychological horror drama explores the shared trauma between a group of women who were involved in a horrific plane crash 25 years ago. The episodes include flashbacks to the women, who were teenagers at the time, struggling to survive in the wilderness for 19 months.

The facts

• English language
• 5 episodes have been released, each around 55 mins long. More are set to be released weekly each Friday
• Starring New Zealander Melanie Lynskey. Other notable cast members include Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis.

Why did it get this rating?

This show was self-rated by Neon. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Violence

Cannibalism is shown. This is presented as a way of surviving in the wilderness.

A dog is killed off-camera. Its dead body is briefly shown.

A character is accidentally killed during an argument with a friend. There is no blood.

A person’s hand is stabbed, causing a bloody wound.

Characters are also shoved and punched. One scene shows a character being brutally beaten, causing bloody injury and swelling.

Close up images of a dismembered body are shown.

Horror

Dead bodies are shown in various states of decay. The charred remains of a dead body are also shown.

There are some jump scares and characters have visions of ghostly supernatural figures and other strange happenings, such as a beehive full of blood.

A person is buried alive.

A character has a nightmare where his skin is sliced off and his throat is slit, spraying blood and revealing body tissue.

Sex

Several types of sexual activity are shown, including masturbation and sex between young people. There is no nudity, but a man’s clothed erection is shown.

There are several references to sexual activity, including masturbation, sex toys and using dating apps for casual sex.

Non-sexualised full-frontal male and female nudity is briefly shown.

Sexual Violence

A teenage character makes a false accusation that a police officer sexually assaulted her.

Horror

A character gives birth in an isolated setting. There is a large volume of blood, and the character is distressed.

Self-harm

Many characters suffer from trauma following the incident. Their mental health is explored in the show.

A character hangs themselves. The death is briefly shown. Other characters are shown to be upset by this.

A flashback shows a character holding a gun in her mouth, grieving after the suicide of a friend. She is saved by another friend, who helps her work through her trauma and addiction issues.

There are other references to the character attempting to take her own life.

A character stands on the ledge of a cliff while another character tries to talk them out of jumping.

Characters cut into the palms of their hands to draw blood for ritualistic purposes.

Drug use

A character snorts cocaine and drinks alcohol excessively. This causes them to pass out.

There is a reference to using chronic (cannabis).

Crime

Characters attempt to cover up their crimes, including murder. They threaten innocent victims and break into property to avoid police scrutiny.

Offensive language

“M****rf**ker”, “F**k”, “sh*t”, “b**ch”, “d*ck” and “assh*le” are frequently mentioned.

Further information

Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?