Y: The Last Man (TV series)

Ben Schnetzer portrays series lead character Yorick Brown

On October 14, 2015, it was reported that FX had begun development on a television series adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's comic book series Y: The Last Man. Vaughan was set to produce alongside Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Production companies involved with the series were expected to include Color Force and FX Productions.[7]

On November 14, 2016, it was announced that Michael Green would serve as showrunner for the potential series in addition to writing a pilot script with Vaughan.[8] On January 12, 2017, it was reported that FX was expecting to receive the script in the next few months.[9] On May 31, 2017, it was clarified that Green had solely written the script and that Vaughan had read and liked it.[10] On July 21, 2017, it was confirmed that FX had received a draft of the script from Green, that they had liked it, and that discussions over the potential series were ongoing.[11] On January 16, 2018, FX CEO John Landgraf commented on the series' status during the annual Television Critics Association winter press tour saying, "[We feel] pretty optimistic, not quite at a final decision point. But we got a script I really like, a draft we really like recently." Landgraf went on to comment that Green was now available for the series following his departure from American Gods.[12]

On April 5, 2018, it was announced that FX had given the production a pilot order. Green was expected to co-showrun the series with Aida Mashaka Croal, both of whom were also set to executive produce alongside Melina Matsoukas, Jacobson, Simpson, and Vaughan. Matsoukas was also slated to direct the pilot episode.[13] On February 4, 2019, it was announced at the Television Critics Association's annual winter press tour that the production had been given a series order for a first season, expected to premiere in 2020.[14]

In April 2019, Green and Croal exited the series due to creative differences.[15] In June 2019, it was announced that Eliza Clark would be replacing Croal and Green as the showrunner.[2] In February 2020, it was concluded that Clark, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force and Vaughan would executive produce. Matsoukas also serves as executive producer, as does Mari Jo Winkler-Ioffreda. Nellie Reed serves as producer.[16] In May 2020, it was announced that the show's title had been changed from Y to Y: The Last Man.[17] On June 22, 2020, it was announced that the series would premiere FX on Hulu instead of FX's linear cable network.[18] In October 2020, it was announced that along with serving as showrunner, Eliza Clark would also be writing the first two episodes, with Louise Friedberg directing those episodes. FX also announced that the entire first season would be directed by women.[6]

In July 2018, it was announced that Diane Lane, Barry Keoghan, Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield, Marin Ireland, Amber Tamblyn, and Timothy Hutton had been cast in the pilot's main roles.[19][20] In February 2020, it was announced that Keoghan was no longer portraying Yorick and that a new actor would be cast.[21] Later that month, Ben Schnetzer was cast in the role of Yorick.[16] In March 2020, it was announced that Elliot Fletcher had been cast in the series regular role of Sam Jordan, Yorick's best friend.[22] In October 2020, Ashley Romans and Olivia Thirlby joined the cast to replace Lynch and Poots as Agent 355 and Hero Brown, respectively. It was also announced that Hutton was no longer part of the cast list due to series restructuring,[1] and his role would be played by Paul Gross.[6] It was later announced that Diana Bang had been cast as Doctor Allison Mann.[5]

Principal photography for the pilot originally commenced on August 20, 2018.[23]

Filming locations reportedly included Pearl River, New York.[24] In February 2020, it was revealed that production for the series was to begin in April.[16] However, production was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] Filming for the series began in Mississauga, Canada on October 26, 2020, and is scheduled to conclude on July 5, 2021.[26]