Will Netflix save Y: The Last Man?
News broke on Sunday, Oct. 17 that Y: The Last Man has been canceled. It's an odd choice given season 1 has yet to finish streaming on Hulu and is two epis...
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News broke on Sunday, Oct. 17 that Y: The Last Man has been canceled. It’s an odd choice given season 1 has yet to finish streaming on Hulu and is two episodes shy of its finale on Monday, Nov. 1.
The series, based on the comics by Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra, centers on a world where people with Y-chromosomes (with exception to Yorick Brown) are left decimated by a world-changing event. In moments, the globe’s power structure is subverted and a new societal order is given room to be birthed.
It’s up to those who remain to decide what life looks like now, how people should be governed, who should be in charge, and what should and shouldn’t carry over from the way society worked before. Of course, the elimination of one gender identity doesn’t mean that those who identify differently will all agree about what to do next or that suddenly the world, in the midst of a cataclysmic event, will bloom into a utopia.
Y: The Last Man unpacks gender across intersectional lines. Gender has never, and will never be, a one sizes fits all or even most topic and issue. The show’s attention to this truth is why fans of the series are pushing for it to find a new home.
But will Netflix answer that call? Here’s what we know!
Could Y: The Last Man become a Netflix original series?
Showrunner Eliza Clark hasn’t given up on Y: The Last Man and is urging viewers, from those who’ve watched from the beginning to potential new fans, to watch the series on Hulu. In her statement on Twitter, Clark says the following:Comics creator Vaughn also took to social media to express his hope for the series to find a new home. In an Instagram post, he spoke of the TV adaptation’s expansion of the story he and Guerra created in the early aughts.
Y: The Last Man‘s focus on inclusionary storytelling, particularly when it comes to queer and trans identity, is a draw for some of its audience even though critics like Vox’s Emily VanDerWerff have raised points on the inherent gender essentialism in the show’s source material that can’t be erased from this adaptation even with the broadening of its world view.
Still, considering the show’s attempt to have a more truthful discussion and exploration of gender and how it plays into society, would Netflix even be the right home for the series?
The streamer is currently embroiled in a debate over whether Dave Chappelle’s transphobic comments in The Closer should be classified as hate speech. There have been calls for the comedy special to be pulled from Netflix.
The platform has received even more backlash due to the firing of an employee who has been accused of leaking the special’s metrics to the press. Said employee was the leader of the trans employee resource group at Netflix. When speaking to The Verge about the firing, a former employee had the following to say:
Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO and content officer for Netflix, has drawn heat for his comments in support of The Closer‘s continued presence on the platform. Sarandos seems to be missing the forest for the trees when it comes to the backlash.
In an email obtained by Variety, he states:
Sarandos’ statement is accompanied with a platitude that violent crime has trended down significantly in many countries. However, that blanket comment is a generalization that erases the specifics of the issue.
Those calling for the removal of The Closer, or for Netflix to take accountability for the content they co-sign, are speaking about the violence specifically perpetuated against trans people in both word and action, not crime in general. Generalizing the topic misses the point.
Netflix has continued to make progress in their attempt to diversify their content and have more people from differing walks of life tell their stories on their platform. The acquisition of Y: The Last Man could add to that mission.
Given the work the show and its writers are doing, and the streamer’s roster of sci-fi content, the series wouldn’t be out of place on Netflix. However, if the show were to be picked up by the streamer, even more discussion of how the powers behind Netflix handle their understanding of the audience’s response to their content is likely to happen.
There will be more talks about LGBTQ+ employees and their treatment in front of and behind the camera. And of what it means for Netflix to invest in a show about gender when they are literally in a media storm about one comedian’s insistence on the gender binary.
Will Y: The Last Man‘s showrunner Clark even want to deal with stepping into that storm with the company considering the premise of her show? There’s been no word on whether Netflix is an option for them, either as an interested party or as a streamer she’d like to shop the show to, but it’s a question that hangs in the air nonetheless.
