The development of the television adaptation of Y: The Last Man, the acclaimed Vertigo comics series from writer Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, has been a long journey since FX first ordered a pilot back in 2018. Years later after cast changes and Eliza Clark replacing the original showrunners Michael Green and Aida Mashaka Croal and production suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic, the post-apocalyptic series finally arrives next month. Today the first full-length Y: The Last Man trailer was released.
Y: The Last Man takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a cataclysmic event has killed every mammal with a Y chromosome except for one man, Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer), and his pet monkey Ampersand. Much like CBS All Access’s The Stand miniseries last year, the topical nature of the series isn’t lost on anyone.
In addition to Schnetzer, the series also features Ashley Romans as Agent 355, Olivia Thirlby as Yorick’s sister Hero Brown, and Diane Lane as their mother, President Jennifer Brown.
Perhaps the most notable update to the source material that reflects a less binary understanding of gender than when the comic was first released is the new transgender character Sam Jordan played by Elliot Fletcher. As described in the initial casting, Sam is “a kind but sarcastic transgender male in his 20s-30s,” and will hopefully represent a major step forward for the transgender community in media.
Based on DC Comics’ acclaimed series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, Y: The Last Man traverses a post-apocalyptic world in which a cataclysmic event decimates every mammal with a Y chromosome but for one cisgender man and his pet monkey. The series follows the survivors in this new world as they struggle with their efforts to restore what was lost and the opportunity to build something better.
