If you're into fictional shows about teens surviving out in the wild like Yellowjackets, this list ranges from the scariest to the most disturbing plots that guarantee fans of the same taste would love to devour (and where to watch them online!).
The Leftovers (2014-2017)
While Yellowjackets follows a high school girls' soccer team that survives a plane crash in the 1990s, The Leftovers tells its own survival story. In this series' case, 140 million people vanished without warning or explanation. This led to people dealing with extreme trauma and guilt as to why they had been chosen to stay behind, and even worse, how they could rebuild the new world they live in.
Streaming Platforms: HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
The Wilds (2020-2022)
The Wilds is the closest show to Yellowjackets. The Wilds kicked off with a plane crash that left a group of teenage girls stranded on an island. The only difference is that the island was all a part of a cruel social experiment that left the survivors with more burden than they could carry.
Streaming Platforms: Amazon Prime Video
Dead of Summer (2016)
Dead of Summer didn't have a tragic survival story. Still, it centers on a haunted summer camp in 1989, which practically breathes the same air as Yellowjackets, especially when it comes to dealing with female friendship and creeping horror.
Purchase or Rent: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV
Nancy Drew (2019-2022)
Though Nancy Drew is not a survival show, the brilliant titular detective leads her on a supernatural murder mystery in her hometown of Horseshoe Bay, Maine. Nancy Drew is for Yellowjackets fans who want to delve deeper into the series' supernatural aspects, with the young detective bringing a more modern dynamic to the show's mythology while still making a nod to the classic.
Streaming Platforms: HBO Max, Hulu
Severance (2022-Present)
Being stuck in a loop and a corporate workplace counts as a survival of the fittest theme for a show, and that's where Severance comes in. Employees undergo a surgical procedure that divides their memories between their work and personal lives; this is for Yellowjackets fans who lean more on the psychological horrors that alternate universes can bring.
Streaming Platforms: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
Station Eleven (2021)
Station Eleven is not only an intense survival story, but also for fans who enjoy shows with multiple timelines. Station Eleven tells the stories of survivors of a devastating flu pandemic, with a particular focus on a traveling Shakespeare troupe that still finds hope and art despite their collapsing world.
Streaming Platforms: HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
Cruel Summer (2021)
Cruel Summer is a non-linear anthology series featuring fractured female friendships and trauma across different timelines. The series primarily centers on a period in which the kidnapping of a popular girl unleashes dark secrets and a female-led mystery.
Streaming Platforms: Hulu, Disney+
The Last of Us (2023-2025)
As Yellowjackets are survival of the savages, The Last of Us is navigating a post-apocalyptic world, in which found family dynamics are even more complicated, especially when we've got Joel Miller and Ellie exploring the new normal of fighting off clickers and bloaters, and even more so, corrupt individuals on their journey.
Streaming Platforms: HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video
Dark (2017-2020)
Netflix's Dark series shares similarities with both The Leftovers and Yellowjackets; the only difference is that the critically acclaimed German sci-fi thriller series centers on the disappearance of children from four interconnected families and generations.
Streaming Platforms: Netflix
The 100 (2014-2020)
Juvenile delinquents are sent 97 years later to check whether the post-apocalyptic Earth they left years ago can still be a sustainable living environment. Just like Yellowjackets, The 100 showcases a brutal experiment in exploring new territory and whether each individual has what it takes to survive.
Purchase or Rent: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV
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