Sometimes, despite the best efforts of writers, showrunners, and producers, it’s an arduous process for a project to make its way onscreen (if it ever does). In the case of the beloved Vertigo comic series “Y: The Last Man,” the adaptation process has spanned almost a decade and a half. Thankfully for fans of the series, the wait is finally over.
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After an initial announcement for it back in 2015 by FX, a TV series based on the comic series makes its way to the small screen this month. The show will air exclusively on FX on Hulu instead of FX’s cable network, so fans of the comic book better have their streaming subscription ready.
Based on the popular series that ran on DC‘s Vertigo imprint from 2002-2008, “Y: The Last Man” takes a familiar plot device of dystopian science-fiction and gives it a gender-driven twist. The show follows amateur escape artist Yorick Brown and his pet capuchin monkey Ampersand as the last man (and monkey) on earth after a mysterious event wipes out every other mammal with a Y-chromosome. Yorick looks for answers as a new, female-led society slowly rises from the wreckage with the world thrown into chaos.
It’s a nice touch with such a female-centric story that showrunner Eliza Clark (“Animal Kingdom“) has so many women as part of the show’s creative team. A woman will direct every episode of the first season, starting with Louisa Friedberg for the first two episodes. Clark will also be writing those two episodes. Melina Matsoukas, who directed 2018’s “Queen & Slim,” is also on board to direct and serves as an executive producer.
Of course, there are plenty of women in the cast, too. While Ben Schnetzer has the lead role of Yorick, he’ll be alongside Diane Lane, Ashley Romans, Olivia Thirlby, Diana Bang, Juliana Canfield, and Marin Ireland. Given the premise, Paul Gross and Elliott Fletcher round out the male cast members, but it’s doubtful there will be any other guys around.
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Even as it’s gone through multiple incarnations over the years (a film adaptation of ‘Y’ starring Shia LeBeouf was in the works back in the ’00s), “Y: The Last Man” has a premise that’s bound to captivate audiences with its political implications even now. The show premieres on September 13, so tune in on FX on Hulu then.