Fox’s The Last Man on Earth has been a surprisingly funny series that managed to turn what should have been an impossible premise for a comedy – following the journey of the last surviving man on the planet – into something often hilarious. Of course, the show was helped by the fact that Last Man on Earth’s titular last man Phil Tandy Miller didn’t remain alone for very long, but a lot of what works about the series is due to creator and star Will Forte. The second half of Season 2 will see Forte giving viewers a look at a young Phil #1 with the casting of Jacob Tremblay.
According to a report from Deadline, Tremblay’s turn as Tandy will occur in an episode slated to air this spring. Considering that Last Man on Earth is not exactly a time travel spectacular, we can probably safely assume that Tandy will be flashing back to pre-apocalyptic days of his youth.
Young Phil/Pre-Tandy will undoubtedly be played well, no matter what the context. Tremblay has been a busy boy in showbiz in the nine years of his life. His first role came back in 2013 in an episode of TV series Motive, though in the years since, he’s spent most of his professional time working on films. His latest project was rather high-profile as he took on the role of Jack opposite Brie Larson in the Oscar-nominated Room. Tremblay has received a breakthrough performance award from the National Board of Review and the Critics’ Choice Best Young Actor Award, in addition to a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Brie Larson isn’t the only big name performer with whom Tremblay will be accumulating big screen experience, as The Book of Henry will see him work with the likes of Naomi Watts, Sarah Silverman, and Dean Norris, while Burn Your Maps will set him alongside Vera Farmiga.
All things considered, it’s somewhat surprising that a boy with a resume such as Jacob Tremblay's would find himself playing a small part in a half-hour Fox comedy series, but at least we can expect that he’ll be pretty great in the role. The Last Man on Earth has done more exploration of Tandy’s past in Season 2, usually by dropping hints and clues. The likelihood of Jacob Tremblay playing Tandy in a flashback means that we’ll be getting a firsthand look at the child behind the man...child.
Unfortunately, there’s no word just yet of the exact spring date that The Last Man on Earth will be returning from hiatus, so we still have a bit of a wait ahead of us before we see Jacob Tremblay as a young Tandy. Luckily, there are plenty of great shows that have already been scheduled for 2016, and you can check out our list of TV premiere dates here.
