‘Y: The Last Man’ embraces shock factor
What would a world without men look like?
Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s seminal 2002 comic book series “Y: The Last Man” imagines that reality in a post-apocalyptic tale about what happens when every mammal with a Y chromosome dies at once, except for one man and his pet monkey. The violent, searing, philosophical books are beloved and cherished by comic book fans, and thus a Hollywood adaptation was both inevitable and difficult to pull off.
The FX on Hulu “Y: The Last Man” series (streaming Mondays, eeee) arrives on TV nearly 20 years after the comics’ debut, and after a fraught production process, but manages to avoid collapsing under the weight of expectations. The series, created by Eliza Clark (“Animal Kingdom”), captures the tone and imagery of the comic books, but wisely is updated for the changed culture of 2021. “Y” is a deeply ambitious, engrossing epic that doesn’t quite achieve the mastery and impact of its source material but certainly is a worthy adaptation.
Like many apocalyptic tales, “Y” is a globe-hopping adventure and features a broad ensemble. Many of the characters are related to our one surviving cisgender man, Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer), a struggling magician in New York City with a pet Capuchin monkey named Ampersand. His mother Jennifer (Diane Lane) is a powerful congresswoman and his sister Hero (Olivia Thirlby) is a paramedic.
In Washington, Jennifer becomes president after the event decimates the line of succession, although the Democrat receives pushback from Republicans of the old regime, including former first daughter Kimber (Amber Tamblyn, channeling Ivanka Trump). After taking the oath of office, Jennifer finds an ally in Agent 355 (Ashley Romans), a member of an elite, secretive government task force that reports directly to the president.
In the six episodes made available for review, “Y” splits its time between the big-picture story in which power players fight to keep the world afloat and scenes of average people struggling to stay alive as power grids fail, food supplies dry up and disease spreads. Jennifer fights to maintain control of what government remains.
Hero and her friend Sam (Elliot Fletcher), a transgender man subject to new horrors in the new world, try to escape the perils of Manhattan. Yorick and his monkey may be the key to finding out what happened to all the men, saving a genetic future for humanity, but mostly he wants to look for his missing girlfriend Beth (Juliana Canfield). Eventually, he and 355 set out together to find geneticist Dr. Allison Mann (Diana Bang), who might be able to discover answers.
“Y” may not be perfect, but the series wears its ambition and effort on its sleeve, creating the most compelling dystopia since “The Walking Dead” was actually good.