Olivia Thirlby as Hero Brown

Y: The Last Man Trailer Imagines a World Without Men

The long-awaited series is finally coming to FX on Hulu.

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Despite living through a pandemic (or perhaps because of it), audiences cannot get enough shows about post-apocalyptic dystopias. FX on Hulu dropped the first full trailer for their upcoming series Y: The Last Man, which offers a chilling look at a world in crisis after all men and mammals with Y chromosomes die in a mysterious, cataclysmic event. All except for one man: escape artist Yorick (Warcraft‘s Ben Schnetzer) and his pet Capuchin monkey Ampersand.

Joining Schnetzer are Diane Lane (Unfaithful) as President Jennifer Brown, who is also Yorick’s mother. Ashley Romans (NOS4A2) is Agent 355, and Olivia Thirlby (Dredd) is Yorick’s sister Hero Brown. Amber Tamblyn (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and Diana Bang (Resident Alien) also star in the series.

The trailer is immediately compelling, showing the fallout from the mass deaths over James Brown’s iconic “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World.” From the president to EMT workers to a mother’s sons, the catastrophic event sees plane crashes, freeway pileups, and mass destruction as the bewildered women of the world struggle to adjust to their new reality. We also see Agent 355 searching for answers and finding Yorick along the way. We also see various violent factions sprouting in response to the power vacuum left by men.

The show is based on Vertigo’s critically acclaimed comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, which ran from 2002-2008. Hollywood has been trying to adapt the 60-issue series for film and television for over a decade now, but the project has faced a series of setbacks. After multiple attempts at turning the series into a film failed, producers turned to television. But they encountered development and production delays there as well.

Y: The Last Man has been reshuffled countless times, with showrunners Michael Green (Logan, Alien: Covenant) and Aïda Mashaka Croal (Luke Cage, Jessica Jones) leaving the project and Eliza Clarke (The Killing, Extant) taking over showrunner duties.

The series also saw major cast turnover, as actors Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel) and Imogen Poots (Black Christmas) left the series. Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk) was cast as Yorick, but he was later replaced by Schnetzer.

The first season of Y: The Last Man will be directed entirely by women directors, and Louise Friedberg (The Right Stuff) directs the first two episodes. Many department heads are women as well, including the camera department, the production designer, costume designer, casting director, editors and stunt coordinators.

Over at Jezebel, writer Harron Walker has some important questions about how Y: The Last Man will treat trans people, which remains to be seen. At least the show has the extraordinary genre author and io9 co-founder Charlie Jane Anders on board as a writer, which augurs well for it.

Y: The Last Man premieres September 13 on FX on Hulu.

What did you think of the trailer? Are you excited for the series? Let us know in the comments!

(image: screencap)

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Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.
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