Y: The Last Man Is Now Streaming On Hulu

After years of on-and-off development, during which time it often seemed like the show would never actually happen, Hulu’s Y The Last Man began streaming in the early hours of this morning, bringing the fan-favorite comic from writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra to live action at last. Early reviews for the series are not as charitable as they have been for the comic over the years, with a 65% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes reflecting significantly less consensus than Vaughan and Guerra got in comics, where their 60-issue miniseries was routinely one of the best-reviewed comics on the market.

The journey to get Y: The Last Man adapted into something beyond the comic has been a mostly fruitless one for many years. From 2007 to 2014 saw various film versions in the works with director D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye) reuniting with his Disturbia star Shia LaBeouf for one attempt. 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg was also attached at one point. In 2015, FX announced they were developing a small-screen version of the project, which would have its own issues along the way including changing showrunner and changing lead actors. Production on the series was also shut down in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with virtually every other production globally, but resumed filming in October of last year.

A drama series based on DC Comics’ acclaimed series of the same name 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.

The ensemble cast features Diane Lane as Congresswoman Jennifer Brown, Ashley Romans as Agent 355, Ben Schnetzer as Yorick Brown, Olivia Thirlby as Hero Brown, Amber Tamblyn as Kimberly Cunningham, Marin Ireland as Nora Brady, Diana Bang as Dr. Allison Mann, Elliot Fletcher as Sam Jordan, and Juliana Canfield as Beth Deville. All episodes of the season will be directed by women and the production has a significant number of female department heads, including both DPs, the production designer, costume designer, casting director, editors, stunt coordinator, and more.

Eliza Clark serves as showrunner and executive producer along with Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force, Mari Jo Winkler-Ioffreda, Louise Friedberg, Brian K. Vaughan, and Melina Matsoukas. Nellie Reed serves as Producer. Y: The Last Man is produced by FX Productions.

Y: The Last Man is a 60-issue science fiction comic book series published beginning in 2002. It received three Eisner Awards, and received the first Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for Y: The Last Man, Volume 10.

Are you excited to see Y the Last Man come to life on screen? Let us know in the comments below, or hit up @russburlingame to yell about comics, TV, and more.