Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large (Above, Karyn Kusama with Courtney Eaton and Samantha Hanratty of “Yellowjackets” at Variety’s TV Fest in June.) Somehow, Season 2 of Showtime’s hit drama “Yellowjackets” managed to keep its sense of humor, even as the series’ story got darker and, yes, it finally went full cannibal.
It’s all about balancing the tone, which is something executive producer Karyn Kusama helped set last season as director of the show’s pilot.
Kusama tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast that the “Yellowjackets” balance of shock and guffaw comes out of the visions of executive producers/showrunners Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson and Jonathan Lisco. “They’ve always understood a tone that I really love myself, which is a kind of adrenalized intense experience that sometimes makes you feel like you need to laugh because you’re so nervous.” Kusama, who also directed the series’ shocking Season 2 finale, talks about about where the series went this year, balancing the tone of the show even as it goes full cannibal and where she’d like to see it go next.
But first, on the Awards Circuit Roundtable, we talk about episodic submissions for this year’s Emmy awards and much more. Listen below!
Read more on variety.com