‘Yellowjackets’ Co-Creator Had an ‘Out-of-Body Experience’ When She Found Out Sharon Van Etten Was a Fan (Video)

The first episode of Season 2 of “Yellowjackets,” which is now streaming on Showtime, features songs from Sharon Van Etten and Tori Amos that the drama’s creators had been trying to find a place for since the hit show debuted.

Van Etten’s teen angst track “17” opens the episode, and co-creator Ashley Lyle explained to TheWrap that she was blown away when when realized that the singer-songwriter is a big “Yellowjackets” fan.

“I went to see a show at the Greek last summer and it was Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten,” Lyle said. “I was totally unprepared, because when Sharon came on, the lights all went out and all the house lights went down. And then she opened her set with the audio from the scene of Natalie (Juliette Lewis) in the rehab center and I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I was like, ‘What’s happening?’ My friends were like, ‘Why are you freaking out?’ and I said, ‘This is from our show!'”

Also Read:
Juliette Lewis Says ‘Natural Born Killers’ Backlash Carried a Double-Standard: I Was ‘Crazy,’ Woody Harrelson Was ‘Acting’

Lyle added, “It was so cool. She played the whole scene and then it as soon as Natalie says, ‘I think I finally know how to get it back,’ it was like, boom, the lights came on and Sharon started playing. I was like, ‘That’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened.'”

“It all comes full circle, right?” fellow creator Bart Nickerson said. “We had actually been talking about using her song ’17’ in Season 1 and we didn’t find the right place for it. And then we were like, I think we know where to put it now. So that worked out.”

Season 1’s killer soundtrack included ’90s feminist icons Alanis Morrissette , Liz Phair and Hole, but sadly, no Tori Amos. That’s been remedied in Season 2, which is “raining” Tori Amos, as Nickerson said.

Also Read:
‘Yellowjackets’ Season 2 Preview: Teen Survivors Are ‘Losing Their Grasp on Reality,’ Says Sophie Nélisse

The 1994 alternative hit “Cornflake Girl” is used at the end of the first episode, where the lyric, “This is not really happening/You bet your life it is,” plays out during a pivotal moment with Shauna (Sophie Nélisse.)

“We tried to put [Tori’s songs] in so many spots. In the first season, it just didn’t line up and then it was just like, raining toward the end,” said Nickerson.

Lyle gushed about what a huge fan of the “Crucify” singer she was when she was young: “I took piano lessons and I so regret not keeping up with it now. But at the time, I I got to a point where I was like, ‘I’m gonna quit unless I can do Tori Amos songs.’ So for a while I was just only playing her songs on the piano.”

Also Read:
‘Yellowjackets’ Star Jasmin Savoy Brown on Darker Season 2: ‘We Go 5 Steps Beyond’

When asked if she’d met the singer, who’s currently on her 2023 Ocean to Ocean tour, Lyle said, “No. But I’d love to.” She then jokingly asked, “Can you make that happen?”

Hear that, Tori Amos? The darkness is calling you.

“Yellowjackets” Season 2 premieres Friday, March 24, on the Showtime streaming service and airs Sunday, March 26, on Showtime. Episodes will drop weekly Fridays at 12:01 a.m. PT/ET each week ahead of their linear airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Also Read:
‘Yellowjackets’ Season 1 Recap: What to Remember for Season 2