“No return, no return, no reason!” For three seasons of Yellowjackets, that chorus has (probably) been stuck in your head. The theme song and the intro it plays on have consistently been one of the best parts of the series, even when not everything is too satisfying. Season 3 is slowly improving on what didn’t work in Season 2, but some issues remain. As the teens further distance themselves from their humanity, the wilderness timeline remains more interesting than what’s going on with the adults. Then there are the major deaths that are not as effective as they should be, like Lottie (Simone Kessell) dying off-screen right when a fascinating new arc was taking shape. But it’s hard to deny how addictive Yellowjackets is when it’s good, especially the opening credits.
The opening credits set the mood for the series, and Yellowjackets does that perfectly. The creative team behind them had many different directions they could have taken, and they chose inspiration from a ’90s horror classic that also knew how scary the woods can be. The imagery, corrupted by VHS static that glitches and flashes on-screen, is as haunting as the earworm theme song, “No Return.” The first two episodes in Season 1 didn’t include the intro, and it feels like something is missing, especially since it’s become an iconic part of the series that almost didn’t come together like fans now know it.
What Were the Early Ideas for the ‘Yellowjackets’ Intro?
The best TV intros vary wildly because they reflect the content of the show. They range from being a simple title card or playing out as an intricate sequence. Yellowjackets is known for the latter. In a 2025 interview with Inverse, the creative studio Digital Kitchen talked about being responsible for making the intro of the Showtime series, and they brought unique pitches to showrunners Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. One idea used lidar scans of a forest, rainbow-like colored images that would depict the wilderness the girls crash land in; another idea wanted fairy tale-themed Russian folk art to illustrate the woodsy setting and how it follows the survivors back into suburbia after their rescue.
The pitch that was picked out had elements of these ideas but made great use of the ’90s influence that is so prominent in Yellowjackets, from the timeline, the needle drops, and the veteran cast. Digital Kitchen took inspiration from the 1999 horror classic, The Blair Witch Project, and not just because it was another story about a group of characters getting lost in a forest with spooky occurrences. The inspiration focused mainly on the movie’s “found footage” concept.
Art director Rachel Brickel told Inverse, “We were trying to create what everyday life was like for these characters before they got stranded in the wilderness.” Look-alike actresses were filmed for these candid moments; flashing lights, glass prisms, and CTR TVs were used to distort the visuals before a final touch with After Effects. The rapid cuts and transitions made it necessary for viewers to rewatch and spot something new. Another visual element was put in to represent how the two timelines bled into one another.
The Symbolism of the ‘Yellowjackets’ Opening Credits
Including clues as to what will happen in the given season in a TV show’s intro is one sure way to keep audiences guessing and hooked. The experimental nightmare of the American Horror Story opening credits has done this, with bizarre, hellish visuals and score. For Yellowjackets, Digital Kitchen explained in the Inverse interview how they included Easter eggs for what was to come in later episodes in the final stage of putting the intro together. It wasn’t a part of the initial pitch, but it became an interactive experience for the fans. While some clips have been taken out to make room for new images with the new season, one moment has stayed the same, and it won’t be removed by Digital Kitchen.
A glimpse of Jackie (Ella Purnell) is seen in all three seasons. Just like how the memory of Jackie haunts the Yellowjackets as teens and adults, she will linger in the intro. Another important element made by the creative studio that has remained the same was how the images change. The old-school, boxed 4:3 aspect ratio was a nostalgic way to represent the past timeline before it broke free to become full screen as the present timeline took over. The wilderness might be where the teens devolved into cannibalism, but the present day hasn’t been any easier.
To feel all the more personal to the characters is how the name of the show is presented. Replacing the yellow font title card in the middle of a black screen, as seen in those early Season 1 episodes, the intro ends on a freeze-frame of one of the girls wearing their sports team jacket. The analog sequence by Digital Kitchen needed music and that went to ’90s band alum, Anna Waronker (from that dog) and Craig Wedren (from Shudder to Think), both of whom had joined the show with a different assignment.
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Wedren and Waronker explained in an interview with Pitchfork that they were hired to provide a score, starting with the buzzing “Snarler” that played in the end credits of the pilot. Their work excited the showrunners and producers, which led to the duo being tasked with creating the opening theme song, “No Return,” which Waronker described as if Radiohead met David Lynch. The Farfisa sound that can be heard was added because Wedren felt “it needed that punishing beat underneath,” and the words being sung were purposely cryptic, as he said they wanted to capture the “sort of ’90s thing where the lyrics only feel like they make sense.”
Season 2 had the rare opportunity for the fans to hear a different variation when the legendary Alanis Morissette did a cover of the song. It’s something the show hasn’t repeated, despite the ’90s artists it could attract. Nevertheless, it hasn’t diminished how effective the opening credits have continued to be. With the visuals and sound put together, Yellowjackets had a thrilling, ominous intro that set the tone for the teen angst, folk horror, and survivor trauma to come.
New episodes of Yellowjackets Season 3 premiere Fridays on Showtime.
Yellowjackets
- Release Date
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November 14, 2021
- Network
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Showtime, Paramount+ with Showtime
- Showrunner
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Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, Jonathan Lisco
