Pork roll or taylor ham? Asbury Park or Long Branch? Which classmate should you cannibalize while stranded in the woods? All three are essential questions every New Jerseyan must ask themselves at some point…well, probably more likely just the first two. However, one of the most underlooked details of Showtime’s hit horror/survival drama Yellowjackets is just how damn New Jersey the entire thing is.
What Is Yellowjackets About?
At this point, if you don’t know the plot of the hit Showtime series, you might just be living under the decaying wing of a crashed plane in the woods. It is a must see by its own merit! But, just in case, the series follows the infamous crash of a girls’ high school soccer team in the wilderness during the 90s, and, cutting between past and present, we watch the team struggle for survival against hunger, the elements, and each other. Meanwhile, their Adult counterparts in the 2020s come to terms with what they truly did in the woods.
But, between its nauseatingly suburban setting, blink-and-miss-it inside jokes, and even a Garden-State-Resident cast and crew, Yellowjackets may be the most distinctly New Jersey horror series ever made—slight spoilers ahead for Season 3 of Yellowjackets.
The series’ setting perfectly highlights New Jersey in all its decadent suburban glory. While half of the series takes place in the woods, the present-day chapters and flashbacks are set across the plains of the Jersey suburbs.
Iconic New Jersey Locations in the Show
After the series’ very first intro in Season 1, Episode 1, the audience is welcomed to an establishing montage placing them right into the heart of the Garden State. There are wide drone shots of North Jersey and a couple Boardwalks, both clearly Asbury Park and Ocean City. One shot has a POV of a car crossing the Riverton-Belvidere Bridge in Belvidere, NJ, and another has a close-up of the Garden State Parkway sign. After establishing the state, the scene moves to the suburbs. The creators clearly have an understanding of state iconography.
The show could have easily remained ambiguous in its setting, and had its suburban locale anywhere, but it chose not only to set its story in Jersey, but also to practically cram the “gabagool” down the viewer’s throat—and delightfully so! The town’s liquor stores, shopping malls, and high schools all have the vibe of a small Jersey town, and its drama perfectly captures life in the NJ suburbs.
Hidden New Jersey References in Yellowjackets
Besides all of this, the series is laced with in-jokes such as call-outs to the state’s Star-Ledger, where Season 1’s reporter Jessica (Rekha Sharma) claims to be working for, and Hackleberry State Park in Morris County where, not to get too spoiler-y, may turn out to be the perfect place to hide a body.
Cast and Crew with Deep New Jersey Ties
What makes the show so accurate to its setting is not just the setting itself, but how where the artists all actually come from. As it turns out, a high number of cast and crew members are from the Garden State. Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, the Creators and Showrunners of the series, are from Belmar and Middletown. Through their influence, the show contains so much true to the state.
Additionally, cast member Christina Ricci (Misty) was born in California, but grew up in Montclair (growing up that close to Glen Ridge probably would drive a character like Misty insane). Tawney Cypress, who plays Taissa, is from Point Pleasant. Clearly, just like the wilderness, the roots run deeper.
With Season 3’s Cliffhanger ending hinting at a possible return home for the teens, we might just get a little more Jersey coming soon.