The Last Man On Earth - Season 1 VERIFIED
The Last Man on Earth is an American post-apocalyptic comedy television series created by and starring Will Forte.[2] It premiered on Fox on March 1, 2015.[2] The pilot episode was written by Forte, and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.[2] The series was cancelled after four seasons and aired its final episode on May 6, 2018.[3]
The Last Man On Earth - Season 1
Almost a year after a deadly virus sweeps the world, Phil Miller (Forte) is seemingly the only human survivor in late 2020. As he searches for others and paints signs in every state saying he is alive in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona, he finds no one. After years of being alone, he decides to run his truck into a rock to die by suicide. He happens to look off to the side right before he hits and sees smoke; he ends up discovering another survivor, Carol Pilbasian (Kristen Schaal).[4] Despite being annoyed by each other, Carol believes it is their job as the last two survivors to repopulate the world, but insists Phil marry her so their children will not be born out of wedlock (and thus not be "bastards"). Although Phil thinks that it is ridiculous to hang on to traditions from the "old world", they marry for repopulation purposes. More survivors slowly trickle into Tuscon, eventually creating a small group. When Phil's irritating attitude leads to his banishment from Tucson, Carol leaves with him.
In season two, Phil and Carol continue their road trip in the middle of 2023.[5] They discover the group has relocated to Malibu, California, and travel there to reunite with them and rebuild trust. Meanwhile, Phil's astronaut brother Mike Miller (Jason Sudeikis) crashes down to Earth and finds his way to Malibu, where he joins the survivors briefly before getting sick; he is ostracized by most of the group for seemingly having been infected with the virus.
In season three, following a potential threat by paranoid and violent survivor Pat Brown (Mark Boone Junior), the other survivors move to a self-sustaining office building in San Jose, California, where Melissa (January Jones) struggles with mental instability and Carol discovers a young boy living in the woods, whom they name Jasper. As time passes, Erica (Cleopatra Coleman) gives birth to a girl named Dawn, and the group decides to leave the United States for Mexico after seeing a nuclear facility meltdown close to the office.
In season four, Pamela Brinton (Kristen Wiig), a rich woman living in a bunker, discovers the group via a drone. The group ends up on a boat and first meet Pamela after she kills Pat. Pamela kidnaps Phil while the other survivors end up stranded on an island. Here, they meet Glenn (Chris Elliott), who has been on the island since before the virus broke out. Pamela's guilt over abandoning the group becomes too much, and they sail back to the island. The survivors move to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and while there, Carol gives birth to twin daughters and becomes pregnant again a few weeks later; Erica becomes pregnant again with Todd's (Mel Rodriguez) first child; and Mike temporarily rejoins the group, having recovered from what was actually a weakened immune system, before leaving to search for a way to start his own family. During a hunt for the missing Jasper, Phil and Todd end up meeting Karl (Fred Armisen) at a jail, who poses as a jailer, but is in fact a cannibal. He terrifies them until they decide to kill him, before he kills one or all of them. However, he ends up finding a Rubik's cube that once solved, explodes. Following a brief reunion with a recovered Mike, the main group then moves to Tapachula, only to be found and surrounded by dozens of underground survivors.
Although the series was cancelled, the plan for the subsequent season was to have both groups of survivors live together and gain one another's trust before the main characters ended up infecting and killing all of the others as asymptomatic carriers of the virus.[6]
The show originated from the writing team of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who had the idea initially for a feature film. They approached longtime collaborator and former Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte with the premise, who "took a spark to it and took it in his own direction", according to Miller.[27] He was partially inspired by the series Life After People. "I love comedy where there's a lot of tension and even though it's very far-fetched, it seems very relatable", said Forte of the premise.[28] Forte's treatment for the series, crafted over a weekend, was pitched around Hollywood to positive responses. They mainly pitched to cable and Internet services, as Forte believed a broadcast network would be stricter on content.[27] In their pitch, much of the outline of the series' first season was formulated.[29] Fox, the show's eventual distributor, was instead doing "something different" and specific to his vision, according to Miller.[27]
The Last Man on Earth received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on reviews from critics, the first season has a score of 72, based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[50] On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an 84% approval rating with an average score of 7.74 out of 10 based on 50 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "It may run out of steam before the season's over, but The Last Man on Earth's ambitious concept and comedic undertone are enough to lure viewers in."[51] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter called the show "a genre-busting breakout that's creative, nuanced and inspired".[52] Robert Bianco of USA Today praised Forte's "audacity, inventiveness and achievement".[53] Hank Stuever of The Washington Post called it "a charming and intelligent sendup of pop culture's obsession with the end of everything".[54] Slate's Willa Paskin called the program "well-made, polished, odd, surprisingly funny".[55] "For a show that shouldn't really work at all, Last Man works pretty well", remarked Margaret Lyons of Vulture.[56]
Several critics, such as Maureen Ryan of The Huffington Post[11] and David Hinckley of the New York Daily News, have questioned the show's future.[58] Mike Hale of The New York Times deemed the show "well made, meticulous in its comic details and pleasantly acted", though noting that part of the show's appeal "dissipates" past the pilot episode.[59] Brian Lowry of Variety opined that "the premise calls for a level of creativity from the producers that these episodes don't consistently deliver. That's not to say 'I wouldn't watch him if he were the last man on Earth.' But like the fate of humanity within the series, while the future certainly isn't hopeless, neither does it look particularly bright."[60]
Subsequent seasons also received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an 86% approval rating with an average score of 7.76 out of 10 based on 14 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "Season two of The Last Man on Earth brings a change of venue and renewed focus on the chemistry between Forte and Schaal, and may win back some viewers who were turned off in season one."[61] The third season has a 78% approval rating with an average score of 7.09 out of 10 based on 9 reviews, with a critical consensus of, "Though it at times feels stuck in place, The Last Man on Earth's third season manages to find a way to make the end of the world fun again."[62] The fourth season has a 92% approval rating with an average score of 7 out of 10 based on 12 reviews, with a critical consensus of, "The Last Man on Earth's fourth and final season is an apocalyptic affirmation of friendship, plumbing such joyful chemistry between its ensemble that it will satisfy audiences in spite of the cliffhanger conclusion."[63]
The first season was released on DVD in region 1 on September 22, 2015. The set contains audio commentaries for "The Elephant in the Room" and "Screw the Moon"; The Last Man on Earth Q&A Panel; "Survival of the Funniest: Creating The Last Man on Earth" featurette; deleted scenes; and a gag reel.[71]
The Last Man on Earth is an American post-apocalyptic comedy television series created by and starring Will Forte.[1] The series premiered on Fox on March 1, 2015.[1] On April 8, 2015, the show was renewed for a second season,[2] which premiered on September 27, 2015.[3] On March 24, 2016, the show was renewed for a third season,[4] which premiered on September 25, 2016.[5] On May 10, 2017, Fox renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on October 1, 2017.[6][7]
MILLER: It was always part of the plan to sort of pay off that character, and this is the way that Will had in his head from the very beginning. At one point, it was in the script, in the middle of the season, but really felt like more of a twist for the very, very end, and it was really fun to be able to do it.
DEADLINE: Changing things up sounds like more of the same for LMOE, in a good way. One of the things that struck me about the show when it debuted and impressed me as the first season progressed was how hard it must be to maintain the premise. Being that this started out as an idea for a feature before Will got involved, how much of a challenge was that?
It's become comfortable and placid in a few storylines, but overall, the season 3 premiere of The Last Man on Earth retains the show's sharp, belly-laugh humor and suggests a wild season is coming down the line.
The Fox comedy developed its interesting premise throughout the first season (these are the last people left alive after a major virus tore through the country/world), found ways to expand its universe in season two, cemented itself as a truly funny, emotional and adventurous show in season three, and explored some deeply dark, crazy, and even disturbing moments while retaining the humor and heart of the show in season four. And the real magic trick here is that the show has only gotten better, smarter, and more specific along the way. Hey, even Justin Bieber has expressed his love for the show! 041b061a72