FX has recently announced bringing the beloved comic Y: The Last Man to television.
Very few details are known at this time. What is certain is FX is partnering with the comic’s creator Brian K. Vaughn as well as Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson to develop the series however they’re still looking for a writer to work with Vaughn. A director is not listed at this time.
For those unaware, Y: The Last Man was a dystopian sci-fi comic published by Vertigo in 2002. The story focused on Yorick, the only man to survive a worldwide epidemic that kills all mammals with a Y-chromosome. Along with his monkey companion who also seems to be unaffected by the epidemic. His journey for answers takes him all over the world as he befriends and is hunted by various groups of women who wish to use him for their own purposes.
Having only hear about the comic in passing, I’m not sure of my initial feelings towards a TV series adaptation. On the one hand, it’s good to see more interesting and unique comics making their way to different types of media and branching out in ways to reach larger audiences. I’m selfishly hoping more adaptations from Vertigo could lead to a potential Watchman series.
However, though there’s no denying that The Walking Dead series is one of the most well know TV adaptations of a comic series, there are certain things that are captured better in a graphic format than on television. Certain imagery has a lot more weight to it when it’s not in motion, and not exactly clear what can happen in each frame.
Furthermore, I’d say there’s no denying that The Walking Dead has gotten a bit stagnant as the show has progressed and the smell of rot isn’t just coming from the zombies. How a show like this might survive when a majority of the screen time would be taken up by a single character would have to be based on who they get to play Yorick. However I don’t think it’s impossible to pull off. With a solid lead who can properly capture the sense of isolation and solitude before danger shows up, there could be a sense of genuine human drama.
Not to mention, this could be a chance to have some really strong leading ladies who will basically carry the plot as Yorick acts as the “maguffin” to drive the plot forward (much like Max in Fury Road)
