EXCLUSIVE: Jenna Burgess, who has recurred as teen Melissa on Showtime‘s Emmy-nominated drama Yellowjackets since Season 2, has been promoted to series regular for the fourth and final season. Production on Season 4 recently got underway in Vancouver.
Burgess has appeared in 20 episodes since 2023 as teen Melissa in the 1990s wilderness timeline, and will take on a more prominent role in Season 3. Melissa has proven more formidable than she first appeared. Thoughtful, watchful, and fiercely loyal, she navigates the group’s shifting power dynamics as survival pushes the Yellowjackets to the brink.
In the present day, Melissa is played by Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Hilary Swank, who joined the series in Season 3. Adult Melissa has spent years keeping the past at a careful distance, until the reappearance of buried secrets forces her to reckon with the trauma of the past.
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Jenna Burgess as Teen Melissa in ‘Yellowjackets’
Kailey Schwerman/Paramount+ with Showtime
Created and executive produced by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, Yellowjackets tells the saga of a team of talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness.
Equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, the series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.
In the present day, Melissa is played by Academy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Hilary Swank, who joined the series in Season 3. Adult Melissa has spent years keeping the past at a careful distance, until the reappearance of buried secrets forces her to reckon with the trauma of the past.
Season 3 marked the most-watched season ever for the series, with the April 2025 finale becoming the most-streamed Yellowjackets episode in series history.
Season 4 is executive produced by Lyle, Nickerson, and Drew Comins of Creative Engine, along with Jeff W. Byrd, Sarah L. Thompson, Ameni Rozsa and Julia Bicknell. The series is produced by Lionsgate Television.
Burgess is repped by Lindsay Whitaker at Alexander White Agency and Pacific Artists Management.
