A spin on the classic 'last man on Earth' narrative, FX chairman John Landgraf and showrunner Eliza Clark have revealed how NOS4A2's Ashley Romans as bodyguard Agent 355.
Development on an adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan's comic-book series has been underway for several years, with a film initially pitched to New Line Cinema in 2007. However, production struggled to get off the ground, in part due to the studio insisting on producing just one film from the ten-volume series. The series was eventually picked up by FX in 2015 with Vaughn serving as an executive producer alongside American Crime Story's Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Clark was brought in to serve as showrunner in 2019 after previous showrunners Michael Green and Aida Mashaka Croal exited the project over creative differences. Y: The Last Man is set to premiere on September 13.
Naturally, the world has changed since the comic-book was first published back in 2002, especially in regards to gender identity. The original series focused heavily on the gender binary of male and female, but Clark and Landgraf have now clarified how Y: The Last Man will explore the wider spectrum of gender identity at FX’s Television Critics Association Press Tour. As reported by THR, the series will feature both non-binary and intersex individuals as well as cis-gendered characters. Clark explained that: "every living mammal with a Y chromosome dies. Tragically, that includes many women. It includes nonbinary people and includes intersex people. But that’s also true of the survivors." Read Clark and Landgraf's full statements below:
Landgraf: “A lot has changed since the graphic novel. One of the things the show will make clear is that there are women with two X chromosomes and men with an X and Y chromosome — but there are also women with two Y chromosomes and men with two X chromosomes. So what happened was all the mammals with a Y chromosome — with the exception of this one man and this one monkey — died in one event. But there are numerous men in the show that had two X chromosomes, and they’re important characters. It’s also made clear that a number of women died that day who had a Y chromosome and probably didn’t even know it.”
Clark: “What was exciting about the book was it takes this kind of idea that a world filled with mostly women … is not necessarily a paradise. Because women uphold systems of oppression — like patriarchy and white supremacy and capitalism. And that can be explored within that. Because gender is diverse and chromosomes are not equal to gender. So in our world of the show, every living mammal with a Y chromosome dies. Tragically, that includes many women. It includes nonbinary people and includes intersex people. But that’s also true of the survivors. I think every single person who is working on the show — from the writers to the directors to the cast and the crew — are making a show that affirms that trans women are women, trans men are men, nonbinary people are nonbinary, and that is part of the sort of richness of the world we get to play with.”
Landgraf: “Even the show’s title has to be explained and contextualized in a much different way than it was. We’ve worked really closely with GLAAD and other organizations and taken a lot of input, and we’ve worked really hard to get that right. I’m confident when of the trans community watch the show you will feel that nuance will be reflected.”
It's good to see FX and the show's producers taking steps to update Y: The Last Man and take steps to include a wider spectrum of gender identities on the show. Such representation is especially important as a recent study by GLAAD revealed that portrayals of trans and non-binary characters in Hollywood were notably absent from major releases in 2020, despite racial diversity increasing in LGBTQ+ characters. Hopefully the show be a step in the right direction to seeing more characters from across the gender spectrum appearing on TV.
There is a caveat though, as it's important that Y: The Last Man's representation of this spectrum involve featuring trans, intersex, and non-binary characters in prominent roles within the show's narrative. Failing to do so runs the risk of merely appearing tokenistic, with the characters feeling as though they are included to fill a diversity quota. This would run the risk of backlash from audiences and would ultimately fail the LGBTQ+ community that Landgraf and Clark claim that the show is trying to . The fact that GLAAD and other organizations have worked alongside FX on this matter is reassuring though. At the moment however, we can only speculate on these matters and we will have to wait until Y: The Last Man premieres on September 13 on FX+ on Hulu.
Source: THR