Nia Sondaya Upped to Series Regular as Teen Akilah in Yellowjackets Final Season

Yellowjackets is keeping one of its younger survivors around a little longer.

Nia Sondaya, who has recurred as Teen Akilah since season two of Showtime’s hit survival drama, has been promoted to series regular for the show’s upcoming fourth and final season.

The move follows a tense season three finale that left Akilah’s fate uncertain. The character disappeared after confronting Teen Lottie (Courtney Eaton), rejecting the increasingly disturbing “Wilderness” visions and making it clear she would no longer follow Lottie’s lead — a moment that raised questions about whether Akilah had escaped, gone into hiding or met a darker end.

Created and executive produced by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, Yellowjackets centers on a group of highly skilled high school girls’ soccer players who survive a plane crash in the remote northern wilderness. Blending survival thriller, psychological horror and coming-of-age drama, the series tracks the team’s descent from a competitive unit into fractured, feral clans, while also following the adult survivors nearly 25 years later as they struggle to reconcile who they became with who they once were.

Season three starred Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Tawny Cypress, Lauren Ambrose, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Samantha Hanratty, Courtney Eaton, Liv Hewson, Steven Krueger, Warren Kole, Kevin Alves, Sarah Desjardins and Simone Kessell. Elijah Wood appeared in a recurring role, while Hilary Swank guest starred alongside Joel McHale and Ashley Sutton.

With Sondaya’s promotion, Akilah is poised to play a more central role as Yellowjackets heads into its final chapter — and as the mysteries of the wilderness continue to close in.