Earlier this year, the Showtime series “Yellowjackets” was renewed for a fourth season. Now, it’s been confirmed that this fourth season will be the last. Contrary to some reporting, “Yellowjackets” has not been canceled; it’s ending on its own terms. A post on the “Yellowjackets” Instagram announcing the news included a statement from the creators, husband-and-wife duo Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson:

“We’ve always known there would come a point when the story would tell us it wants to end, and it’s our belief that our job — our responsibility — is to listen.”

“Yellowjackets” is part survival thriller, part folk horror, and part dark comedy. The series follows one set of characters at two points in time. In 1996, a New Jersey girls’ soccer team, the Yellowjackets, flew to a tournament and crashed in the Canadian wilderness. They spend the next 19 months devolving into murderous, pagan cannibals before being rescued. The series also follows the survivors in middle age, 25 years later, as they remain haunted by what happened to them.

Season 3 of “Yellowjackets” posted the highest ratings yet, so why end it now? Especially since Showtime is infamous for dragging shows out too long: see “Dexter,” “Homeland,” etc.

It’s easy to suspect behind-the-scenes issues since Showtime’s parent company, Paramount, has recently undergone a merger with Skydance. New regimes always have new priorities. The Showtime brand has been falling by the wayside, and “Dexter: Original Sin” was even unrenewed for a previously confirmed second season.

The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Lyle & Nickerson are in talks to continue their creative relationship with Paramount, though. That doesn’t sound like an acrimonious breakup. What does give pause is that Lyle & Nickerson have often said they planned for five seasons of “Yellowjackets.” Why is the show falling one season short?

Spoilers for “Yellowjackets” follow.

Deadline reported that Lyle & Nickerson were inspired by how “Succession” went out on a high note after four seasons. It’s unclear if they knew season 4 was likely going to be the end when making “Yellowjackets” season 3, but based on how that season ended, it would make sense.

The season 3 finale, “Full Circle,” finally answered key mysteries, then concluded with Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) using a recovered satellite phone to call for help. That answers how the Yellowjackets were rescued and puts a time limit on how long the Wilderness story could continue. Watching that scene before season 4 was confirmed, I’d feel semi-satisfied if the series had ended there.

In the present-day storyline, half of the surviving Yellowjackets are dead. Shauna’s (Melanie Lynskey) family has left her, while she’s vowed to become the “queen” she was in the Wilderness again. Taissa (Tawny Cypress) and Misty (Christina Ricci) have allied against Shauna. Who knows what Melissa (Hilary Swank) is planning? “Yellowjackets” season 3 set the stage for a final act, but was the show supposed to get there already? 

Season 2 of “Yellowjackets” killed off the adult Natalie (Juliette Lewis). No one has come out and said Lewis quit, and she’s at least once claimed she was only doing two seasons. Given she’d publicly criticized her character’s writing, though, there’s been a lot of speculation that she bailed early and that threw off the writers’ plans. That could be a reason that “Yellowjackets” will be shorter than once suggested. 

I would indeed be shocked if Natalie’s early death was part of the plan. The same goes for adult Melissa, a character who was only given a name in season 2 and isn’t listed in the original pitch.

In season 3 of “Yellowjackets,” the ’90s timeline (unaffected by Lewis’ departure) turned Natalie and Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) into foils. If “Yellowjackets” is “Lord of the Flies,” then Nat is Ralph (the one who holds onto her humanity and tries to be a good leader) and Shauna is Jack (a sadistic tyrant taking her pain out on everyone else).

You’d think the present timeline would parallel this and have Shauna and Natalie in conflict again. Adult Natalie’s arc had been about learning forgiveness, while Shauna’s is about letting her mask of normalcy slip, so another easy contrast. Instead, Natalie is already dead, which undermines seeing her story play out in the ’90s.

There’s also a whole episode from “Yellowjackets” season 2 that hasn’t been released. If the show’s puzzle feels like it’s missing pieces, there’s one reason why.

Yet I’m cautiously optimistic about “Yellowjackets” season 4. They’ve got (presumably) 10 hour-long episodes to conclude two narratives and lots of mysteries. (What is that symbol?) Hopefully, that means a season that’s all killer, no filler, and that keeps up the momentum from the back half of season 3. Will the show spend the rest of the ’90s timeline in the Wilderness, or will it show their earliest days post-rescue? Personally, I’m dying for a scene where the girls first learn Lottie’s (Courtney Eaton) “visions” were just her being off her meds.

I’ve enjoyed “Yellowjackets,” bumps and all. The actors always do incredible work, Natalie’s one of my favorite recent TV characters, and the show’s soundtrack has seriously helped me develop my musical palette. Whatever ending lies ahead, I can’t wait to see it.

“Yellowjackets” season 4 is currently being written, with production set to begin in 2026 for a premiere later that year.