'Yellowjackets': Jason Ritter Did Not Appear in Season 2 But Will Still Show Up at Some Point

While the Yellowjackets season 2 was packed full of emotional twists and divisive surprises, there was one moment fans had been waiting for all season long: a cameo by Jason Ritter, the husband of Melanie Lynskey, who stars as adult survivor Shauna on the Showtime series. But, sadly, the actor failed to make an appearance in any of the episodes before the finale debuted on May 26.

ET has learned that while we didn’t see Ritter yet in these nine episodes of season 2, he will appear in the world of Yellowjackets at some point. With this series, you never know where he might pop up.

Additionally, during a convo about the finale, Kevin Alves, who plays young Travis, said that there was stuff in some of the episodes that they filmed that didn't make it on the show. And that several longer scenes were trimmed down in the final cut.

As previously reported in December 2022, the 43-year-old actor (and upcoming star of the CBS reboot of Matlock) was set to guest star in an episode during Yellowjackets' anticipated, cannibal-filled second season. But as episodes went by, Ritter was nowhere to be seen.

This, of course, left many fans disappointed that he didn't even show up in the season 2 finale -- and wondering if the series is planning to release a bonus episode sometime before the release of season 3, which is currently on hiatus during the ongoing writers' strike with studios over appropriate pay and compensation for their work.

And there seems to be a theory going around that Ritter was supposed to be Cabin Daddy, someone fans briefly met at the end of season 1.

Despite not appearing on Yellowjackets, Ritter did work on the show, with his wife confirming that he even spent on time set with the rest of the cast.

As Lynskey previously told ET, the two wouldn't appear onscreen together since they didn't share any of the same scenes. "We didn't work together," she said, revealing that "it's kind of helpful to not work together because, you know, one of us has to be with our child."

Lynskey then revealed that the idea for Ritter's cameo came from co-creator and showrunner Ashley Lyle. "It was not my idea. It was not his idea," she said. "Ashley, in fact, came to him and said, would you want to do this particular thing, and he was really excited."

While reflecting on her marriage to Ritter and the success of Yellowjackets, Lynskey added, "Jason is the greatest human being. I love our daughter. I love the show. Like, everything's coming together in a way that feels very -- I feel so fortunate."

Although he didn't appear on Yellowjackets in season 2, he previously had cameo as an infected human in Lynskey's big episode on the HBO zombie series, The Last of Us. On Twitter, the actor confirmed his appearance by revealing that it was "just the best day."

Prior to that, Ritter also appeared on the Hulu true-crime series Candy, which starred Lynskey as murdered housewife Betty Gore. He had a recurring role as Deputy Denny Reese opposite Lynskey and Jessica Biel, who portrayed accused axe murderer Candy Montgomery, and her husband, Justin Timberlake, who guest starred as Deputy Steve Deffibaugh.

“They were so brilliant together. Clearly, Jason is a comedic genius and Justin is in his own right as well. And the way they work off each other and the improv that they did, it was amazing to see,” Biel told ET about her and Lynskey's husbands working together.

The chemistry they display on the series also spilled over to real life. “The two of them had become besties,” Biel revealed at the time, with Lynskey adding, “They text all the time [and] had a lot of discussion about their characters. Also, there were long phone calls.”

During a conversation with ET about her Emmy nomination for her turn as Shauna during season 1 of Yellowjackets, Lynskey talked about the possibility of her and Ritter working together again. "First of all, we love working at the same time, in the same place, which is kind of why he did Candy. Because then he didn’t have to travel to go somewhere else for work. We like to be able to keep the family together if we can," she shared.

Lynskey then added, "I think he’s so talented."

Yellowjackets season 2 is now streaming on the Showtime app before airing Sunday, May 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.

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