Random Ramblings: Y The Last Man & FX Channel

Y The Last Man Comic Book Series By Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra (Vertigo)

The tag for the FX Channel is "Fearless" and while this network has been home to some of my old favorite TV series namely shows like Nip/Tuck, The Strain and The Bridge and even newer shows like A Murder At The End Of The World, the channel has not been taking risks with shows with new concepts or storylines lately, preferring instead to stick to remakes or sequels to old franchises. Although I was wholly impressed by FX's latest series Shogun (it has been confirmed by FX that there will be a second season) and Justified City Primeval, I can't help but feel that the network is taking a safer route with these shows. Don't get me wrong, FX deserves all the success and acclaim for both these shows especially for Shogun since it was a big investment on their part and for finally giving long waiting fans an updated, faithful and well deserved adaption of James Clavell's book. But I'm not here to talk about these high profile shows, instead I'm here to talk about a TV series by FX that was cancelled after only one season. The show is Y: The Last Man, a series that I was following diligently during the Covid-19 lockdowns, which made watching the series a little chilling (as I'm realizing now) since it also dealt with an epidemic that wiped out all mammals with the Y chromosome/ male species. The 10 episode series, which is actually based on the similarly titled comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, was finally shown in late 2021 on FX on Hulu after a long delay from its initial pitch to FX in 2015. The delay was greatly caused by the change in the showrunners for the show from Michael Green and Aida Mashaka Croal to Eliza Clark, several casting changes and filming restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the series received generally favorable reviews, it was cancelled after its first season by FX mainly due to declining viewership and budget constraints (FX had to pay a purported 3 million to extend the contracts of the actors due to the delays).

For those not acquainted with this series, the story is basically about one man, Yorick Brown (an escape artist), who survives an epidemic that seemingly wipes out all (male) mammals with a Y chromosome. However, he also has a pet, a male capuchin monkey named Ampersand, that survives with him. By the way, Ampersand (like in the symbol &) is not a real monkey but completely CGI. For first time viewers, you will be truly amazed by how life like this mischievous monkey appears on the show which is largely credited to the people in Industrial Light & Magic. The first scene that shows New York in the aftermath, with littered corpses, crashed cars and even a helicopter on top of a building (apparently the male pilot died mid air) is also equally impressive. Continuing with the narration of the story, Yorick's mother Jennifer Brown (Diane Lane), a former Congresswoman is now elevated to the position of President after the (female) Vice President is supposedly killed during the cataclysmic event. He also has a sister, Hero Brown, a paramedic with delinquency issues but the series gets more interesting when Yorick is paired with Agent 355/ Sarah Burgin (played excellently by Ashley Romans), a Secret Service Agent and member of the mysterious Culper Ring organization, who is assigned as his bodyguard by his mother on his travels in search of a Harvard geneticist, Dr Allison Mann (feistily portrayed by Diana Bang), who may be able to reveal the answers to his and Ampersand's survival. In addition to this, his mother has also kept his existence a secret from her political rivals in order to protect him. Hence, she is forced to send her son away with Agent 355 just after reuniting with him to keep him safe. Actually, I found the reversal of (gender) roles between Agent 355 and Yorick as protector and protectee refreshing with many amusing situations in the series showcasing this reversal to great effect. The often mysterious backstory of Sarah Burgin (Agent 355) before the apocalyptic event also adds many interesting layers to the story.

So what made this highly anticipated, expensive and critically well received series fail? If you have seen this series, you will be immediately drawn to the fact that this series has many similarities to other successful dystopian series like AMC's The Walking Dead (which is also based on a comic book series by Robert Kirkman) and Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale (based on Margaret Atwood's novel). Firstly, I think that the many factors that delayed the series played a major role in its demise. The abrupt changes in the series' creative team and casting perhaps created inconsistencies in the creative direction of the show. The pandemic which happened during the development of the series meant filming would be further hampered and delayed and this would impact FX's budget for the show. Another factor which also contributed to the show's demise was the sudden shifting of the series from FX to FX on Hulu. But honestly, I personally felt that the show failed because it alienated the male demographic. Although this might be an unpopular opinion to some female viewers, like me, who enjoyed the series, the fact that Michael Green was replaced by Eliza Clark as the showrunner at the last minute, all 10 episode were directed by female directors, a cast that was predominantly female except for Ben Schnetzer who plays Yorick and Elliot Fletcher who plays a transgender man who survives the epidemic (special mention for fans of the Canadian mountie series Due South, the show guest stars Paul Gross as President Ted Campbell who dies during the global epidemic) and a storyline where all the men die and the world is ruled by women (sounds like the worst nightmare for some guys 😁) makes it hardly surprising that this series did not find a favorable audience with most dudes. If they (meaning guys) had wanted to check out a TV series with apocalyptic overtones, they would definitely tune in instead to what Rick and Daryl was up to in the TWD series or turn to newer series like Amazon Prime's The Fallout. Which is a shame really because this series is actually high quality TV with an addictive story thanks to Brian K. Vaughan's (gasp he's a guy) comic book series. So, my recommendation is that if you (guys included) have not seen this series, you should definitely check it out. In fact, I have provided some links below for those interested in seeing this highly entertaining series for the first time or to simply revisit the show.

Final thoughts, cancellation of shows after one season is nothing new to me even excellent ones like Joss Whedon's Firefly, but Y: The Last Man meant that the 'Fearless' network would be more cautious in its selection of shows in the future. When networks are reluctant to venture into more controversial series or air riskier shows, content on our TVs will get only more diluted until we are inundated daily with only game or reality shows. Just my 2 cents.

You can also check out the review on this series by Variety by clicking this link below.

Review by Variety .