Why ‘Yellowjackets’ may have its best shot yet at earning an ensemble nomination at the SAG Awards

Luca Giliberti
·4 min read
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The Yellowjackets will probably be literally hungry for quite some time, but the people who play them may not be for much longer, figuratively. After being overlooked twice in a row, “Yellowjackets” is predicted to cook up its first drama ensemble nomination at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, according to our combined odds, in which it currently sits in fifth place.

Unlike the last two times it was eligible — for the first seven episodes of its debut season at the 2022 awards and for the final three at the 2023 awards — the Showtime hit is now competing for a full season as all nine episodes of its second installment aired during the current calendar year. Not just that, as a two-time Best Drama Series Emmy nominee, it’s now an established awards player than could benefit from SAG-AFTRA voters trying to play catch-up, as they have done with many buzzy titles in the past (remember: They didn’t even nominate “Succession” at all until its third season).

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The biggest question for “Yellowjackets” is whether it will be able to rebound after underperforming in this year’s Emmy nominations. It earned a total of three bids, down four from the previous year, losing crucial mentions for writing, directing and supporting actress for Christina Ricci. While this drop-off may very well be indicative of waning industry support for the show following a divisive second season, it’s important to remember that it was up against tough competition, much of which it won’t have to face at the winter awards. “Succession,” “The Last of Us” and “The Crown” are the only other drama series nominees that are eligible, and they, as you might have guessed, make up the current top three in our SAG Award drama ensemble odds in that order (“The Morning Show” rounds out the forecasted lineup in fourth place).

What can help “Yellowjackets'” case at the SAG Awards is that it boasts a large cast that’s full of well-respected industry vets, including also Melanie Lynskey, Lauren Ambrose and Juliette Lewis (all of whom are previous nominees). Not to mention, the show oftentimes features its cast in big group scenes that allow the actors to play off of each other — look no further than the adult Yellowjackets gathering and hashing things out in Lottie’s (Simone Kessell) Sharing Shack in the eighth episode of the second season.

An ensemble nomination would also be an opportunity for voters to acknowledge a cast that has, for the most part, been unfairly overlooked by awards groups. With the exception of Lynskey and Ricci, both of whom have received Emmy nominations for their performances, the “Yellowjackets” actors have been left out in the cold (sorry) by industry awards. The show’s 1996 cast members — including Kevin Alves, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Courtney Eaton, Samantha Hanratty, Liv Hewson, Steven Krueger, Sophie Nélisse and Sophie Thatcher — have arguably been the unsung MVPs of the series from the get-go (justice for Nélisse’s devastating work in “Qui,” the sixth episode of the second season). So let’s hope the SAG Awards give them a moment in the spotlight by finally, um, choosing “Yellowjackets” for ensemble.

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