In November of 2021, Y: The Last Man, the TV adaptation of DC’s original comic book series, was canceled after releasing its ninth episode. A show that was nightmarish to develop––running through multiple showrunners, casting, and a massive halt on production during the COVID-19 pandemic—the sudden cancelation of Y:TLM came as a surprise to many; the typically pro-creative execs at FX have never canceled a show before, instead opting to put out final seasons for all of its series. FX released a formal statement that Y:TLM was canceled due to a steep decline in viewership. This was met with skepticism from the industry who said that, with changing viewer tendencies, mid-season declines are common as people opt to binge shows rather than watch episodically. No confirmation could be made as Hulu, where the show is aired, does not release viewership figures to the public
With such little time on air, Y: The Last Man came and went without raising much attention. And yet, this feels like a missed opportunity for Hollywood and for Audiences alike. Taking place in a post-apocalyptic future in which everyone with a Y chromosome mysteriously dies, the story follows Yorkic, a lovable fool who is the only cisgender man left on earth. With Eliza Clark as showrunner, and a cast and crew almost entirely made up of women,Y:TLM reckons with gender politics in a way that very few shows have had the audacity to do.
With only a total of ten episodes, the series didn’t make the cultural impact it was shooting for. And yet, if you haven’t watched this FX TV show, you definitely should. An interesting story with a stellar cast and crew, Y: The Last Man shows us forward-thinking perspectives on gender while revealing where our society still has room to grow.
Breaking Gender Expectations On Screen
From the show’s pilot premiere, Y: The Last Man takes the audience from the world before The Event—the infamous day in which every creature on earth with a Y chromosome died—to the world after. The show immediately runs against any preconceived notion that a world without cis-men would be a Utopia. By following the people left in the world and their attempts to rebuild society, the show demonstrates how women, rather than building a more just society, reinforce the violent and oppressive systems they were once subjected to.
This is particularly highlighted by Yorick’s mother Jennifer Brown (Diane Lane), the current President of the United States, and her counterpart Kimberly Campbell Cunningham (Amber Tamblyn). The two characters embody the democrat and republican dichotomies we see today; with riots in the streets and a country of mostly women struggling to survive, these two characters fight to uphold order through the beliefs and practices of the government from before The Event. President Brown consistently attempts to soothe the masses and prevent further anarchy by hiding information from the public, while her counterpart is obsessed with bringing back men and rebuilding the world of before.
These characters and their behaviors do two things; exemplify how old practices continue on in a new world, and in doing so, reinforces women as three-dimensional characters. Kimberly and Jennifer’s constant struggle for power show us how, just because men and people with Y chromosomes are gone, does not mean that equality and justice suddenly become the norm. And yet, it also shows audiences how women are not one-dimensional the way they are usually portrayed in film and television. Brown is unafraid to play dirty if it means upholding the masses. We see how the pressure of being a leader, and the fear of inadvertently causing more death in destruction, drive her toward these actions. Amber cannot let go of her traditional views, desperately clinging to the idea of playing the supporting role to a man in power. Yet, we also see her as wicked smart, independent, and capable, fiercely committed to exposing the wrongdoings of Brown and her stint in power.
Both have had children, and yet neither are defined by their positions as mothers; nor do they portray traditionally maternal characteristics. Instead, Kimberly and Jennifer are explored for how their complexities and imperfections, fears, and desires, end up influencing the society they are trying to build. The audience watches as these women grow into themselves through the series, excited by their rise to positions of power, and yet horrified by how they recreate patriarchal and white-supremacist norms.
A Protagonist that Subverts Gender Expectations
There is an elephant in the room that must be addressed when watching Y: The Last Man: If this show is about unraveling gender politics, why is Yorick, a cis-man, the lead? This may seem strange, even infuriating, but the show quickly validates this decision. Yorick is the TV show’s Trojan horse; one subverts the gendered expectations of man while acting as an entry point to the stories of the people around him.
A failing escape artist in the time before the end of the world, Yorick is someone who has always craved attention but could never catch a break. Now, after The Event, Yorick finally achieved the fame he’s always wanted, but it’s not under the conditions he anticipated; people don’t pay attention to him from his talents, but from something he can’t even control, his Y chromosome. Because of his biology, Yorick finds himself objectified by the world. Having had no experience being defined by his gender in the world prior, Yorick struggles to adjust to the new reality in which people see him not as a person, but as an entity that can be controlled or manipulated.
When he is taken by Agent 355, a woman contracted by his mother to take him to a lab across the country, it is Yorick’s maleness that puts them in a constant state of danger. Moving from state to state and running into various women-led communities, Yorick is always either hiding or running from attackers. Inexperienced and clumsy, he doesn’t embody the traditional masculine traits that would help him in these situations. He cannot fight, shoot a gun, or use violence. Instead, he becomes the damsel in distress for Agent 355 to come and rescue.
The gendered roles are completely swapped between the two. Where Yorick is unexceptional and spacey, Agent 355 is a militant woman merciless in completing her missions. She embodies these qualities typically associated with men—deadly, calm, and capable. Watching the dynamic between the pair demonstrates to viewers how human traits become gendered more out of dogmatism rather than truth.
An All-Woman Run Production
Y:TLM has been applauded for its stellar acting, and it’s true—these actors give their all in their performances. It’s enthralling watching a women-led cast embark on adventures in a dangerous and violent world, coming into their own as they grapple with the new rules of this society. With such powerful characters, it’s clear that the strength of Y:TLM comes from their women-led production. Every episode of Y: TLM is written by a woman, cis or transgender. Every episode is directed by women. Producers, writers, directors, cinematographers, production design, costume design, stunt coordination, and more were run with women at the heads of each department.
Those statistics are staggering and criminally un-discussed. While these women’s work is done behind the scenes, their presence makes an impact you can feel on and off the screen. In terms of long-term impact, Y:TLM acts as a trailblazer for future productions, and hopefully pushes new series and films to hire people behind the scenes that they want to be represented on screen. The fact that women lead production departments means they have the credentials to move into other major television shows, which creates more opportunities for women in general. This makes a difference in Hollywood which still struggles to embody gender equality.
Y: The Last Man, Trans Representation, and Gender Essentialism.
While Y:TLM should be applauded for its painstaking accuracy of complex women, its depiction of trans people and trans politics is more complicated. The show took a lot of measures to make sure the perspectives on the show were trans-affirming. Doing extensive research, working with trans individuals and gender consultants, and introducing trans and non-binary characters, Y:TLM actively fights against perpetuating transphobic beliefs.
The show constantly reiterates that Yorick is the last cisgender man left on earth, not the last man. Much of the dialogue between characters is used to pay homage to the men left on earth; consistently affirming the existence of non-binary and trans men after The Event. Dr. Munn, the genius geneticist charged with using Yorick to recreate Y chromosomes, played a key part in this. When taking about The Event, Munn mourns the loss of those who died who weren’t cis-men; “we lost a lot of brilliant women that day.”
Sam Jordan, played by Elliot Fletcher, a trans man attempting to figure out his place in a world dominated by women, acts as an important figure for Y:TLM. Funny, smart, and charming, Sam struggles within this new world often reflect the very real struggles and dangers trans people face. When Sam and his friend Hero find themselves in a Costco-like space run by a community of women, Sam’s masculinity puts him in danger. Previously abused by men before The Event, these women are bonded over their united hate of men. They look at men like Sam as villains and perpetrators of violence. The point of contention is hypocritical, as many fears of trans people are. Sam is docile and unassuming while these women actively partake in violent practices, but his masculinity still puts him in a state of constant danger.
And yet, even as the show affirms trans realities, its premise means Y:TLM cannot escape its gender essentialism, or the belief that someone’s gender assigned at birth is on some level their destiny. Because everyone that has a Y chromosome dies, the story perpetuates the idea that people are defined by their sex chromosomes. Even if the show continually affirms trans people, it still entraps them by the nature of the show; trans women die alongside all cis men because of their Y chromosome. Even as the show uses Elliot to reflect the issues of trans people on screen, he is still marked by his genes.
In this way, Y:TLM upholds the transphobic beliefs it set out to critique. This maybe be frustrating, but the show’s depiction of trans politics can be viewed as a mirror to society and how we are currently dealing with trans politics; often focusing on aesthetic and word-based affirmation rather than getting at the policies, beliefs, and practices that invalidate and endanger the existence of trans people. Perhaps the series teaches us what we are missing; that a conversation about gender without an accurate representation of trans people leaves us lacking.
Y: The Last Man and The Future
A complicated story that perhaps bit off a little bit more than it could chew, Y: The Last Man is still an important show that should be studied by future TV show developers, both for what it got right and what it got wrong. The show understands that chromosomes, DNA, and gender are nuanced topics, and that the gender binary is an oversimplification. At times, this made the show a bit messy, sending a message to its viewers that’s unclear and waved away as it’s complicated. And yet the production and casting did knockout work—bringing characters to life in a way that keeps audiences enraptured. The fact that a show was run by women should be modeled further in Hollywood.
If anything, though, people should watch Y: The Last Man because the series acts as important archival work that marks the times we live in right now; how we are at the cusp of understanding gender diversity, but not yet embracing it in a way that breaks down our beliefs and everyday way of being. A TV show that reflected how our society is trying to make space for gender fluidity while still holding onto the binaries we grew up with, perhaps the show can teach future generations of television what taking on trans and gender politics looks like and how to make space for gender fluidity.
Although it may not have been commercially successful, Y: The Last Man should be recognized for being an enthralling 10-episode series that did important work.