You never can tell what Fox is going to do with some of its series that are neither bona fide ratings juggernauts nor centered on Bruce Wayne or the Simpson family. One such bubble show was the Will Forte-led comedy The Last Man on Earth, since neither widespread acclaim nor a faithful fanbase could automatically guarantee another year of the show’s semi-solitude. But thankfully, someone up there heard our wishes – we’re pretty sure it was the ghost of Terry the worm – and Fox has put in an official order for Season 3.
Who knew the post-apocalypse could be so hilariously awkward and strangely sweet? Creator Will Forte and his executive producer partners Phil Lord and Chris Miller (of Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street fame), that’s who. And now millions of other people as well, as the show has totally earned its spot as one of the first live-action shows to be seen on Fox’s Sunday night lineup in many years. Season 2 has sadly seen a downtick in viewers from the somewhat surprisingly popular freshman season, but the show is still bringing in an average of right around 3 million people per episode on the night, and it does well within the key 18-49 demographic. Plus, lots of people don’t mind waiting a few days to check it out on DVR and Hulu, among other places.
While there was some apprehension over what this show would be like before its midseason debut a little over a year ago, Last Man on Earth has proven itself to be a clever, silly and indulgent look at what it would be like to have the empty world as one’s playroom, as well as how certain sitcom tropes would work in such a setting. Having a killer ensemble definitely helped that out, too. Basically, The Last Man on Earth centers on Will Forte’s bearded and surface-nice Phil “Tandy” Miller and the string of lies he gets into trouble for with the other survivors he meets, as played by Kristen Schaal, January Jones, Mel Rodriguez, Mary Steenburgen, Cleopatra Coleman and Boris Kodjoe. (Spoilers below for anyone not caught up on the show.)
Season 2 has done a great job of building a narrative with only a few moving parts and outside resources, spinning relationship drama and childish rivalries for laughs. Things have gotten really interesting for Erica, who is pregnant with dead Phil’s baby, and we are anticipating the reunion between Tandy and his brother Mike, who got his own solo episode recently in which he returned to Earth from space and became the fixation of Mark Boone Junior’s waterbound survivor Pat. (That episode also gave us Jacob Tremblay as Young Tandy. Plus, I can’t wait for the impending argument between Melissa and Gail, since Todd can’t seem to make any solid decisions. And I can’t wait to see where the stories go for an all new batch of episodes.
Fox also gave Brooklyn Nine-Nine a Season 4 renewal, which is awesome as well. Sadly, though, there are still quite a few Fox comedies that still haven’t gotten renewed, although something will likely happen on that front in the next month or two.
The Last Man on Earth airs Sundays on Fox, although you kind of have to pay close attention to the network’s schedule, as there are frequently weeks without new episodes.
