Diane Lane has had a full and illustrious career, but no one can forget her infamous role of Martha Kent from Zack Snyder's run of Superman films. Snyder will be vindicated for having a vision unlike anyone else someday, especially in light of his cult classic Watchmen film. However, Lane has been involved in more beloved comic book adaptations. In 2021, the acclaimed actor was cast in the leading role of the television adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan's comic, Y: The Last Man. Illustrated by Pia Guerra, the series follows Yorick, who was the only surviving male in a dystopian world.
A cataclysmic event mysteriously kills all beings with a Y chromosome -- save for Yorick and his Capuchin monkey. The series explores these events, including the government's response to such an event. Lane plays Yorick's mother, Jennifer Brown, a U.S. Congresswoman who gets elevated to the office of President after the men die off. Like Vaughan's work, the show's premise easily sets up a commentary on gender politics surrounding the characters. Lane's role as Jennifer Brown is particularly fascinating in the events directly following the dystopian event.
With all the male leaders dead, the women left in the U.S. government scramble to find a leader in the line of succession. The series notes that the progressive government officials far outweigh the conservatives as Jennifer is elevated to President. Other countries that had no female leaders at all crumbled without a stable government. This is an intriguing argument that, sadly, was not given the time of day after the regrettable cancellation.
'Y: The Last Man' Was Ahead of Its Time
Brian K. Vaughan has had unfortunate luck with his adaptations going forward. Feminist leaning books such as Y: The Last Man and Paper Girls faltered after one season on different streaming platforms. Despite that, his work has merit, even years after Y: The Last Man first premiered. The series not only depicts leadership under a fully female umbrella, but also other realities that could be possible.
Trans characters were only slightly referenced in the comic, but they are brought into the forefront in the television series. Because all those with a Y chromosome were killed, Trans men are another community that survived. The series creator, Eliza Clark, created an original Trans character, Sam Jordan (Elliot Fletcher), to give further attention to this concept.
Y: The Last Man was unlike any other series on television for this unique take, and it regrettably did not find an audience. Viewership numbers admittedly had a steep decline, but the series also had the bad luck of premiering in 2021. With the pandemic still in the rearview mirror, platforms had not yet figured out how to continue in this strange new world. An unfortunate parallel to the series itself, many shows of its kind died on the vine during this time. Only recently has television been coming back in a big way. Shows that came out during the time of the lockdown and shortly after often failed and eventually got scrubbed from the internet. Fans can only hope that Y: The Last Man will find life like other canceled series online after its demise.
Y: The Last Man 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Release Date 2021 - 2020 Network FX Showrunner Eliza Clark Directors Destiny Ekaragha, Louise Friedberg, Daisy Von Scherler Mayer, Mairzee Almas, Cheryl Dunye, Lauren Wolkstein, Karena Evans Writers Charlie Jane Anders, Eliza Clark, Katie Edgerton, Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Tian Jun Gu, Catya Mcmullen Cast See All Diane Lane Marin Ireland Ben Schnetzer Juliana Canfield Powered by Expand Collapse