Showtime and Lionsgate are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over their hit series Yellowjackets. The lawsuit alleges that the show’s plot, themes, and characters are strikingly similar to the 2015 film Eden, which also centers around a soccer team’s cannibalistic survival after a plane crash. The plaintiffs seek damages and an injunction to prevent further exploitation of Yellowjackets.

Showtime Networks and Lionsgate’s Entertainment One are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit that claims Yellowjackets copied elements from the 2015 film Eden. Filed on November 14 in New York federal court, the lawsuit alleges that the survival thriller series bears "strikingly similar elements" to Eden, written by Nate Parker and distributed by Voltage Pictures. Both works revolve around a soccer team forced to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash, ultimately resorting to cannibalism and forming cult-like factions. Yellowjackets premiered in 2021 to critical acclaim, while Eden was released in 2015.

The lawsuit emphasizes similarities between the two works, including overlapping plot points, themes, and characters. Both follow a plane crash involving a top soccer team, with survivors initially working together before splintering into opposing factions. The emergence of a charismatic leader who incites violence is also a shared plot element, along with a storyline involving a coach, a head coach’s child, and a character of the opposite gender to the team. According to the complaint, the “most substantive elements” of Yellowjackets have been copied from Eden. It also asserts that both projects focus on characters who must fight for survival against harsh conditions and psychological isolation, resulting in the blurring of moral boundaries.

The plaintiffs in the case, Eden Film Production, claim that Yellowjackets has copied thematic elements such as survival, cult mentality, morality, and the fragility of civilization. The lawsuit highlights the slow-burn pacing of both works, which allows viewers to empathize with characters as they struggle to survive, form alliances, and push moral boundaries in increasingly dire circumstances. The complaint also draws parallels between the coaches in both works, who suffer similar traumatic experiences, including cannibalism and death.

Eden Film Production is seeking unspecified damages as well as an injunction to prevent Showtime and Lionsgate from further profiting from Yellowjackets. The Emmy-nominated series has been a major success for Showtime, with its second season becoming the studio’s most-streamed debut ever. Despite the lawsuit, Showtime and Lionsgate have yet to respond publicly to the allegations. Yellowjackets has received praise for its suspenseful, horror-driven storytelling, but this legal dispute could raise questions about the originality of the hit series.