‘Yellowjackets’ Showrunner Jonathan Lisco Strikes Overall Deal With Showtime

Harry Belafonte – the calypso singer best known for his signature song ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’, as well as his civil rights activism – has died at the age of 96.The veteran performer and civil rights activist passed away in his Manhattan home from congestive heart failure, as confirmed by spokesman Ken Sunshine to The New York Times.Belafonte began his career in the late-1940s, where it’s believed that his first-ever live performance was backed by jazz legends Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. His debut album, ‘Mark Twain and Other Folk Favourites’, was released via RCA in 1954.It was the release of his third studio album ‘Calypso’, however, that served as his breakthrough. Featuring ‘Day-O’ as its opening track, the album became his first to surpass one million sales.Belafonte was prolific through to the early ’70s, releasing two albums a year on average.

NewJeans has been named Dior’s newest global ambassador.The 16-year-old’s appointment as the French luxury fashion house’s new ambassador was confirmed today by Women’s Wear Daily. According to the official NewJeans Instagram account, Haerin will be a Dior global ambassador for jewellery, and a house ambassador for fashion and beauty.“This is an opportunity to celebrate the privileged ties binding more than ever the NewJeans singer and Dior.

INFINITE has announced his 2023 Europe showcase tour.The K-pop idol recently revealed that he’s set to go on a six-show tour of Europe this year. The showcase tour will kick off at the Conway in London on June 23, followed by stops in Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin throughout the rest of the month.Lee Sung-jong’s tour will then continue into July for its final two shows, in Warsaw and Budapest on the 1st and 2nd of the month.According to a tweet from Lee’s official Twitter account, tickets for his ‘The One’ tour will go on sale April 28 at 12pm GMT.

PJ Harvey has announced her upcoming 10th album, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’ with the release of the lead single, ‘A Child’s Question, August’. Check out the track below.Shared today (April 26), the new single follows a series of teasers shared by Harvey on social media, and follows on from her last full-length LP with 2016’s ‘The Hope Six Demolition Project’.According to the double Mercury Prize-winning artist, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’, was written over a period of three weeks, although stemmed from ideas dating back to 2017 when she felt she had lost her connection with music.Seeking to revive her connection with songwriting, the inspiration for the new tracks was uncovered following advice from film-maker Steve McQueen, who told her to ignore the ‘process of writing an album’, and instead rediscover why she first fell in love with “words, images and music”.The album will see the singer-songwriter return to her roots – inspired by the likes of Nina Simone and Bob Dylan – and provide fans with “a resting space, a solace, a comfort, a balm” which is created to feel “timely for the times we’re in.”Today also sees Harvey share the first single from the LP, ‘A Child’s Question, August’.

FIFTY FIFTY have signed a new partnership with American label Warner Records.The new partnership comes shortly after FIFTY FIFTY went viral on TikTok with their sophomore single ‘Cupid’. The English version of the song, also known as the ‘Twin Ver.’, has since peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.“We are grateful to Warner Records for the opportunity to discuss innovative ways to bring FIFTY FIFTY to the forefront of the music industry,” said Sung-il Ahn, co-CEO of FIFTY FIFTY’s label ATTRAKT, per Billboard.“We are thrilled to find that our thoughts and visions align with an artist-centered approach, and we are eager to explore potential avenues for success together,” he added.Meanwhile, Warner Records’ COO Tom Corson and CEO Aaron Bay-schuk said: “We are thrilled to partner with FIFTY FIFTY to amplify their global smash single ‘Cupid’ and we know there is much more to come.”The duo, who are also co-chairmen of the American record label, added that the Warner Records team are “excited to create additional opportunities for this powerhouse K-pop girl group”.In a statement, FIFTY FIFTY said that they are “honoured to be working with Warner Records, and we are excited to see what the future holds for us.

I'm A Celebrity... South Africa viewers were close to throwing up themselves as they watched Jordan Banjo and Janice Dickinson take on the first official trial of the series. The spin-off of the ITV reality show started on Monday night and all the returning campmates faced their first challenges before entering camp.

She won over fans with her elegant sense of style in the Love Island villa last summer, and Gemma Owen looks sensational as she models her new collection for fashion brand PrettyLittleThing. The dressage rider from Cheshire was a 'bronze goddess' as she soaked up the sun in Dubai.

Emmerdale fans have been flooding social media with the same 'who' based question as Caleb and Nicky Milligan clashed again. Those living in the Dales are completely unaware but viewers of the ITV soap know the pair are father and son.

K.J. Yossman Viaplay’s first U.K. drama commission, “Rebus,” has gone into production in Scotland. The show has also added some new cast members including “Line of Duty’s” Lucie Shorthouse, Brian Ferguson (“The Ipcress File”) and Stuart Bowman (“The Serpent”). They will join Richard Rankin (“Outlander”) as John Rebus, the much-loved character John Rebus from Ian Rankin’s bestselling novels. “Rebus” tells the story of a Scottish police detective who “finds himself at a psychological crossroads,” according to the logline. “At odds with a job increasingly driven by corporate technocrats, involved in a toxic affair he knows he needs to end, and all but supplanted in his daughter’s life by his ex-wife’s wealthy new husband, Rebus begins to wonder if he still has a role to play – either as a family man or a police officer. In a world of divisive politics and national discord, does the law still have meaning, or is everyone reverting to an older set of rules? And if so, why shouldn’t Rebus do so too?”

BreAnna Bell A series of changes have taken place at Showtime. Variety has confirmed the network has canceled “Ziwe” after just two seasons and has picked up Mandy Patinkin’s “Seasoned” to series, delivering a six-episode order. Hosted and executive produced by comedian Ziwe Fumudoh, the talk show focused on presenting trending hot topics concerning race, politics and other cultural issues as well as musical numbers, interviews, guest stars and comedic sketches. Guests on Season 2 included Drew Barrymore, Rowan Blanchard, Blake Griffin, Emily Ratajkowski and Mia Khalifa, among others. The series first debuted in 2021. With the loss, that leaves Showtime without a current late night talk show following the cancellation of “Desus & Mero” (which Ziwe also served as a writer on before moving to her own show). The changes come as part of Showtime’s reevaluation of the programming slate after MTV Entertainment Group president and CEO Chris McCarthy stepped in to oversee the cabler once former CEO David Nevins left in October.

EXCLUSIVE: Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s film Heist 88, which had been earmarked for Paramount+, will be moving to Showtime, Deadline has learned. Additionally, I hear the network has made decisions on two of its three comedy pilots, handing a six-episode series order to Seasoned, starring Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, and passing on The Wood, based on the 1999 feature film. Showtime also has opted not to renew Ziwe, hosted and executive produced by comedian Ziwe Fumudoh, for a third season.

EXCLUSIVE: The L Word: Generation Q is no longer available on Showtime’s streaming service and the Showtime Anytime app. The removal comes on the heels of the series’ cancellation by the network after three seasons.

Season 2 of Yellowjackets had a buzzy premiere week.

Warning: This story contains spoilers from season 2 of Yellowjackets.

SPOILER ALERT! This story contains plot details from episode 2 of Showtime’s Yellowjackets. Do not read unless you have watched the episode!

Now that has returned with season 2, there's been a renewed search for answers to the biggest questions about the show, including everything from when the young survivors will become cannibals in the past to what's going on with Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) in the present. While at its core, the Showtime drama is about what happened to a group of teenagers after a plane crash stranded them in the wilderness for 19 months and how a few of the grownup survivors are reckoning with the secrets that amassed both then and now, it's a puzzle box series that introduces new pieces with each episode. And as a result, fans have run wild with theories and ideas about every detail of the series, much to the delight of its creators, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, who admitted to ET that they «have been, along with the entire cast and most of our EPs, trolling Reddit a little bit and watching Twitter.» And in doing so, they noticed during season 1 that «somebody out of the thousands of comments that have come up has rightly predicted almost everything.»That said, there are still many (new and old) questions to be asked, theories to be addressed and answers to be debated. And as season 2 continues to roll out, this article will be updated with information from each new episode as well as additional insight from the creators and the cast, including the adult players, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey and Tawny Cypress, and their younger counterparts, Courtney Eaton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Liv Hewson, Sammi Hanratty, Sophe Nelisse and Sophie Thatcher.

EXCLUSIVE: The ongoing changes at Showtime have reached the network’s development slate which has been cut down significantly, with a slew of projects getting a pass, I hear.

Yellowjackets has returned to our screens for a second season, with the mystery thriller continuing its intense, traumatic and compelling dual timeline narrative.The second instalment of the Showtime series kicked off last week (March 24), with new episodes set to air weekly until May 14.A synopsis for season two of Yellowjackets reads: “The Yellowjackets barely made it through summer, but now as winter begins to bite, we’ll see if hunger and desperation turn into full-on psychosis.“Meanwhile, 25 years later, each survivor must determine if the darkness is coming for them or from them.”Yellowjackets airs on Showtime in the US, but viewers in the UK can watch the show on Paramount+.You can watch the second season premiere episode of Yellowjackets, titled ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen’, on the streaming service now, along with every episode of the first season of the series, which originally aired between November 2021 and January 2022.Paramount+, which is the current home of Yellowjackets, costs £6.99 a month.There was good news for fans of Yellowjackets back in December when it was confirmed that the show had already been renewed for a third season.“With Yellowjackets’ runaway success in season one and the pent-up anticipation for season two, we wanted to maximise the momentum by fast tracking season three now,” Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media Networks, said in a statement.“The show’s ambition is only exceeded by its execution, and I thank the incredible creative team behind it, including Ashley, Bart, Jonathan, eOne and the Showtime team, for turning this into such a success.”

Following the season 2 premiere of Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” on March 26, the Emmy-nominated hit series broke records across the network’s platforms.

Season two of Yellowjackets broke records for Showtime!

The Season 2 premiere of Yellowjackets delivered Showtime‘s best debut for a second installment that the network has seen in more than 10 years.

BreAnna Bell “Yellowjackets” has broken a new record with its Season 2 opener. Following its March 26 premiere, the series became Showtime’s most-streamed debut ever, hitting nearly 2 million viewers across platforms according to figures from Nielsen, comScore, and Showtime’s internal streaming data. “Dexter: New Blood” previously held the title. Showtime also boasts that it’s the best Season 2 premiere for the network in more than 10 years and nearly double the series premiere audience. The debut marks a 110% rise in viewership from the series premiere in November 2021 and 40% jump from “Yellowjackets” Season 1 finale in cross-platform viewing.

Warning: Spoilers for “Yellowjackets” season 2. Do not read if you have not watched episode one, “Friends, Romans, Countrymen,” written by creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson and directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. The creators, showrunner Jonathan Lisco, actor Sophie Nélisse and others break down the season 2 premiere while speaking with ET’s Deidre Behar. 

Now that has returned with season 2, there's been a renewed search for answers to the biggest questions about the show, including everything from when the young survivors will become cannibals in the past to what's going on with Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) in the present. While at its core, the Showtime drama is about what happened to a group of teenagers after a plane crash stranded them in the wilderness for 19 months and how a few of the grownup survivors are reckoning with the secrets that amassed both then and now, it's a puzzle box series that introduces new pieces with each episode. And as a result, fans have run wild with theories and ideas about every detail of the series, much to the delight of its creators, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, who admitted to ET that they «have been, along with the entire cast and most of our EPs, trolling Reddit a little bit and watching Twitter.» And in doing so, they noticed during season 1 that «somebody out of the thousands of comments that have come up has rightly predicted almost everything.»That said, there are still many (new and old) questions to be asked, theories to be addressed and answers to be debated. And as season 2 continues to roll out, this article will be updated with information from each new episode as well as additional insight from the creators and the cast, including the adult players, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey and Tawny Cypress, and their younger counterparts, Courtney Eaton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Liv Hewson, Sammi Hanratty, Sophe Nelisse and Sophie Thatcher.

After a surprise-filled season 1 finale, is finally back with new episodes — and the season 2 premiere did not disappoint, delivering one shocking moment after another. And the biggest one was the return of Ella Purnell as Jackie Taylor, the captain of the soccer team who initially survived the plane crash before freezing to death in the wilderness at the end of season 1. While the series did not resurrect Jackie, she was fully alive as part of the visions Shauna Shipman (Sophie Nélisse) was having of her late best friend while sitting with her dead body in the meat shed.

Warning: Spoilers for “Yellowjackets” seasons 1-2. Do not read if you have not watched the season 2 premiere, “Friends, Romans, Countrymen,” written by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson and directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer.  

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Following one of the most shocking finale episodes in recent TV history, the highly anticipated second season of “Yellowjackets” is finally here. The Emmy-nominated series arrives on Showtime on Friday, March 24 but will also be available to stream for free on Paramount+ beginning Sunday, March 26. The Showtime breakout hit — which stars Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci, among others — follows a high school soccer team after a near-fatal plane crash leaves them deserted in a remote location in the wilderness. The girls find themselves at the center of a “Lord of the Flies”-inspired survival horror story in the 19 brutal months before they’re rescued.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for the first episode of “Yellowjackets” on Showtime. Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” is back, and viewers who hoped to hear a song from ’90s icon Tori Amos finally get their wish, as music supervisor Nora Felder delivers a tasty treat in the form of the 1994 song “Cornflake Girl.” Felder replaces former music supervisor Jen Malone, having helped Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” soar up the streaming charts with “Stranger Things” Season 4. “Cornflake Girl” closes out the first episode. Teen Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) has a hard time saying goodbye to Jackie (Ella Purnell), who froze to death in the Season 1 finale, after the two best friends had a fight, and Jackie spent the night outside in a snit. Shauna, guilt-ridden, spends much of the Season 2 premiere with Jackie’s corpse in the meat shed, talking to her (guest star Purnell talks back).

Now that has returned with season 2, there's been a renewed search for answers to the biggest questions about the show, including everything from when the young survivors will become cannibals in the past to what's going on with Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) in the present. While at its core, the Showtime drama is about what happened to a group of teenagers after a plane crash stranded them in the wilderness for 19 months and how a few of the grownup survivors are reckoning with the secrets that amassed both then and now, it's a puzzle box series that introduces new pieces with each episode. And as a result, fans have run wild with theories and ideas about every detail of the series, much to the delight of its creators, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, who admitted to ET that they «have been, along with the entire cast and most of our EPs, trolling Reddit a little bit and watching Twitter.» And in doing so, they noticed during season 1 that «somebody out of the thousands of comments that have come up has rightly predicted almost everything.»That said, there are still many (new and old) questions to be asked, theories to be addressed and answers to be debated. And as season 2 continues to roll out, this article will be updated with information from each new episode as well as additional insight from the creators and the cast, including the adult players, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey and Tawny Cypress, and their younger counterparts, Courtney Eaton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Liv Hewson, Sammi Hanratty, Sophe Nelisse and Sophie Thatcher.

After a surprise-filled season 1 finale, is finally back with new episodes — and the season 2 premiere did not disappoint, delivering one shocking moment after another. And the biggest one was the return of Ella Purnell as Jackie Taylor, the captain of the soccer team who initially survived the plane crash before freezing to death in the wilderness at the end of season 1. While the series did not resurrect Jackie, she was fully alive as part of the visions Shauna Shipman (Sophie Nélisse) was having of her late best friend while sitting with her dead body in the meat shed.

SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “Friends, Romans, Countrymen,” the Season 2 premiere of “Yellowjackets,” now streaming on Showtime. “Yellowjackets” — which earned seven Emmy nominations for its freshman season, including one for outstanding drama — set the internet alight during Season 1 in a way that feels tough to match, which its showrunners, co-creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, and Jonathan Lisco, are all too aware of. In an interview with Variety, Nickerson said they tried to approach the Season 2 premiere carefully, in order to set up “this season of story that we’re very excited about,” while also wanting to give fans “something that expresses appreciation for you tuning in.”

Yellowjackets kicks off its second season this month.Created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, the mystery thriller series follows a girls’ football team in 1996 who, while travelling to a tournament in Seattle, crash-land in the Canadian wilderness and are left stranded for nineteen months. Between their attempts to survive, the show also jumps to their adult lives in the present day.The show’s first season received seven nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards last year, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nods for Melanie Lynskey and Christina Ricci.Other members of the cast include Tawny Cypress, Ella Purnell, Sophie Nelisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Sammi Hanratty and Juliette Lewis.The exact number of episodes hasn’t been officially confirmed.

EXCLUSIVE: Showtime has opted not to renew The L Word: Generation Q for a fourth season. The decision comes two months after the series’ third season ended its run. However, the franchise may continue on the network — The L Word: New York (working title), a reboot of the groundbreaking original series, is in development with the 2004 series’ creator Ilene Chaiken attached, I hear.

BreAnna Bell “Each survivor must determine if the darkness is coming for them or from them,” reads Showtime’s official description for Season 2 of “Yellowjackets” and the writers this season reveal they were not holding back as they embarked on this follow up to their explosive debut. Executive producers Jonathan Lisco and Drew Comins teased the themes of trauma and ptsd explored in Season 2 of Showtime’s thrilling drama “Yellowjackets,” and how it will affect the present-day players at the second season premiere held at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theater on Wednesday night. With new cast members including Simone Kessell and Lauren Ambrose, who portray adult Lottie and Van, the teenage and adult yellowjackets crew along with creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson walked the red carpet to the theater for a special screening which was followed by a brief Q&A segment.

The Sopranos inspired season two of Yellowjackets, showrunners have claimed.Yellowjackets tells the story of a team of talented female high-school soccer players who survive 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 have attempted to piece back together.The series became Showtimes’ highest-viewed new series in six years, with over five million viewers weekly.In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, creators of the show Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickelson discussed how normalising cannibalism, murder, and trauma is connected back to the Italian mob boss.

Melanie Lynskey says she feels very «fortunate» for the best things in her life, including her career, her sweet husband, Jason Ritter, and their adorable daughter.The celebrated actress walked the carpet at the season 2 premiere of , held at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on Wednesday, and she spoke with ET's Deidre Behar about Ritter, and his casting in the second season of her popular showtime series.«I don't think I can tell you anything,» Lynskey admitted, when it came to details about who Ritter would be playing in the hit psychological horror drama, and added that she didn't have anything to do with his casting — which was entirely the idea of creator Ashley Lyle.«Ashley, in fact, came to him and said, 'Would you want to do this particular thing?' And he was really excited,» said Lynskey, who also added that she and Ritter «have no scenes [together]. We didn't work together.»Ultimately, Lynskey said it was «kind of helpful to not work together because, you know, one of us has to be with our child.»Lynskey and Ritter — who began dating in 2013 — got engaged in 2017 and welcomed their baby girl in December 2018.