“Historically, This Story Would Be Told With a Bunch of Boys” – Christina Ricci Previews Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” [Exclusive]

“The plane crashed… a bunch of our friends died… and then the rest of us starved and scavenged.” So began the official teaser for Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” a survival drama that features a pilot episode directed by Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation).

The series was created by Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson (“Narcos”), described as being “equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama.”

“Yellowjackets is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. 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.”

Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, and Juliette Lewis star in “Yellowjackets,” and Bloody Disgusting’s podcast The Boo Crew got a chance to chat with Christina Ricci ahead of the series premiere on Showtime this Sunday, November 14. She previews her character Misty, while also touching upon what makes “Yellowjackets” a fresh and unique experience.

The opportunity and challenges of bringing Misty to life.

“I like who she is at essence. I love this kind of character. If you follow the sort of lineage of the character, she really makes a ton of sense. This is a person, we meet her as a young girl. She has NO social currency. She’s not cool, she’s not pretty, she’s not hot, she’s not fun. Her value is something very specific and she’s just really easily dismissed in life and in our culture. When they’re stranded, her value comes out. This sort of sociopathic ability to do the most unpleasant things and also from always being rejected and on the outside – she’s very good at observing, assessing and manipulating people. Nobody’s ever GIVEN her what she wants, she’s always just been rejected and dismissed, so she has learned to take and manipulate… and force.

“When they are rescued and they return to normal life and this culture that we live in, she is once again, completely disposable and you imagine, lived 20….25 years of drudgery and rejection and confirmation that she was NEVER going to be accepted or given the things that she longed for so much in life, which are really basic like, to be loved, to have friends, to be valued. Within this box, she learns to eek out what power she can, to have value. I love a character like this because – she’s still having fun. She’s still creating joy for herself and it doesn’t rely on anybody else. It doesn’t rely on anyone liking her, she really doesn’t need it. That in so many ways makes her really formidable… and powerful! I love playing people who…the question of likability doesn’t even exist. I find it really cloying that everybody has to be relatable.

“Are we so unimaginative that we have to see ourselves in other people in order to be fascinated by them or like them? I love playing her because her RULES make so much sense.”

On Karyn Kusuma (who directed Episode #1).

“I was really excited to work with her!

“What I really love about Karyn is that Karyn is going to make the product that she’s going to make, be it TV or film. She is not insecure in any way. She is open to discussion and the idea of the concept and all of these things, but you know very much that this woman knows exactly what she wants to be doing with each scene and moment to moment. That, as an actor, it’s great because to feel that sort of confidence you’re just left to really do the best work that you can do.”

On working with Juliette Lewis.

“It was really fun! We get along so well. We’re very similar in the way that we work on set. We have a lot of similar history, we know a lot of the same people. It was really fun to work together. Having been around for 30 years, we both have a lot rules when we shoot and she was like, ‘Yeah me too. Will you go tell the stills photographer how we feel about stills.’ (Laughs) It’s great to work with somebody where there’s a shorthand in that way.”

On the gore and frank sexuality.

“I think with the gore, I think it’s really necessary! Also this show really allows women to occupy a space that’s usually reserved for men. Historically, this sort of story would be told with a bunch of boys. So, I think to really kind of drive home that we are not dealing with femininity in the same way, there has to be a certain pushing of the shock value and things that are really not associated with coming of age tales for women.”

On the journey ahead.

“I mean, it’s really extreme and it’s pretty shocking – and it’s just, stuff that does not happen in life. Misty crosses a lot of lines that you’re just like…we don’t do that. That’s just something you don’t do. Anytime you have…well I don’t know, I’m no expert, but I do think that once you are pushed to a certain level and you’ve experienced certain extremes in life, other extremes become just way more acceptable and you allow them to happen in a way that other people who haven’t experienced those extremes allow.”

You can listen to The Boo Crew’s full interview with Christina Ricci below, which also touches upon The Addams Family, Casper, Sleepy Hollow, and Wes Craven’s Cursed.