Late last year, the rights for Y: The Last Man finally reverted to comic creators Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. Previously, there were misguided attempts to adapt the comics into a feature film when a TV series is a much better fit for the story, which is about Yorick Brown, the last man on Earth after a plague wipes out every mammal with a Y chromosome. Yorick goes on a worldwide journey with Culper Ring Agent 355 and scientist Dr. Allison Mann to find the key to humankind’s survival.
The attempts at a film adaptation stalled out, and now it looks like Y has its best shot yet at being done right. According to THR, Vaughan is developing a TV series adaptation for FX with Color Force's Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. The team is still working to find a director, and Vaughan will team up with another writer on developing the series.
This is the most exciting news yet for this amazing comic. It lends itself perfectly to serialized storytelling, and it’s the right size for FX. It doesn’t require the massive budget of an HBO series, but it does have R-rated elements that should put it on cable. FX, for its part, could use a series with a large base of devoted fans, especially since AMC—one of its primary competitors in scripted cable dramas—not only has The Walking Dead, but will also have Preacher starting in May of next year.
That being said, this is still in the early stages of development. FX declined comment, and I assume this won’t be a straight-to-series order. But I really hope that all of the pieces come together on this, especially since Vaughan is involved with developing the series.
If you haven’t read Y, I highly recommend it. You’ll be instantly hooked; the series remains timely as ever (it deals with sexism and feminism in a way that few stories have); and it’s damn funny and entertaining, but also has some powerful dramatic moments. And once you tear through it, definitely move onto Vaughan’s other series, Ex Machina and Saga.
