The first season of Showtime’s thriller Yellowjackets made its Netflix debut on October 2. As viewers watch the binge-worthy horror drama, viewers may be curious to know if Yellowjackets is based on reality or is completely fictional.

Yellowjackets originally premiered on Showtime in November 2021. The series follows a talented high school football team whose journey to the national championship takes a tragic turn when their plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness. Stranded, the teens must do whatever it takes to survive, from foraging for food to hunting wild animals.

Today, the girls – who are now adults – are preparing for their 25-year high school reunion. Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), Taissa (Tawny Cypress), Nat (Juliette Lewis) and Misty (Christina Ricci) struggle to face the trauma of their dark pasts that continue to permeate their relationships and careers. Now they will something to protect what really happened in the forest.

Of Yellowjackets Now available on Netflix, new viewers may wonder about the inspiration behind the series and whether the girls’ harrowing experiences are based on true events. Here’s what you need to know while you watch.

Is Yellowjackets Based on a true story?

Showtime’s TV series Yellowjackets is not based on a true story. However, the show draws inspiration from both real life and fiction, including William Golding’s Flight 571 disaster‘‘s novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ and the fictional gangster Tony Soprano.

“Lord of the Flies”

Ashley Lyle, co-founder of Yellowjackets along with her husband Bart Nickerson and Jonathan Lisco, told The New York Times in November 2021 that she was inspired by an article about a remake of William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’.

Written in 1954, the novel follows a group of high school boys who are stranded on an island. At first they try to establish order and elect a leader named Ralph. However, as time passes, their civilized behavior deteriorates, leading to chaos and brutality.

Lyle noted that the comments in the article were skeptical that girls would fall into such barbarism. She remembered one man’s comment, “What are they going to do? Cooperate until death?” In response she thought, “You were never a teenage girl, sir.”

“There was a girl at my high school who poisoned another girl’s food for fun,” she added. “Just showing that girls can get along doesn’t paint the full picture.” In YellowjacketsLyle wanted to emphasize the importance of relationships between girls, calling some of her high school friendships “the most important of my life.”

In November 2021, Ashley Lyle further discussed the inspiration for the show from the 1954 book on The Hollywood Reporter’s “TV’s Top Five” podcast.

“‘Lord of the Flies’ is about how socialization breaks down and how society is a facade. We thought, ‘who is more social than women?'” she said. “As girls, you learn early on how to get people to like you and what the social hierarchies are.”

The Flight 571 disaster

Yellow jackets also draws inspiration of the Flight 571 tragedy, according to Netflix’s Tudum. On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes Mountains while en route from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile. Thirty-two survivors – mainly members of the Old Christians Club amateur rugby team and their family and friends – had to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.

After being stranded for 72 days, they were eventually rescued, but only 16 people survived the dangerous conditions, which included freezing temperatures, avalanches and famine. The tragedy was the subject of Netflix’s feature film Association of the Snowwhich was nominated for an Oscar in 2023. Unlike the Andes disaster, the girls did get in Yellowjackets are stranded for a longer period: two years.

ForbesIs ‘Society Of The Snow’ based on a true story? Your questions answeredBy means of Monica Mercuri

Survivors and families were involved in the making Association of the Snow. A Few survivors even made cameos in the film. For example, Fernando ‘Nando’ Parrado (who walked 62 kilometers from the plane crash site to the valleys of Chile) sees the door open for the actor who portrays him during the film. Carrasco Airport in Montevideo scene. Survivor Roberto Canessa also played an extra in the hospital, while Carlos Páez Rodríguez, the youngest man in the plane crash, portrayed his father and read out the names of the survivors over the radio.

Tony Soprano

In a March 2023 interview with THR, Lyle shared that there was another source of inspiration for it Yellowjackets was Tony Soprano, the gangster played by the late James Gandolfini in HBO’s beloved drama, The sopranos.

‘Tony Soprano is an absolute monster, but because he is so well drawn, you understand him. That is what we strive for,” she explained. “We have conversations about what might be going too far, but it’s less about sympathy for the characters and more about the type of story. We never want to be shocking and lustful for the sheer joy of it.

Season 1 of Yellowjackets is now streaming on Netflix. You can watch season 2 on Paramount+.