Sci-fi drama Y: The Last Man canceled at FX on Hulu

Welp: it looks like it’s the end of the road for the long-awaited television adaptation of Y: The Last Man. At least, at FX on Hulu. The series, which has only aired seven of its ten-episode first season on the streaming platform, won’t be back for a second.

Based on the popular comic series of the same name, the sci-fi drama is set in a dystopian future where a deadly virus has suddenly killed every mammal with a Y chromosome. Save two: Escape artist Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand. Why? Well, that’s the central mystery that Y: The Last Man promises to solve, as it simultaneously explores what life would be like in a world populated (almost) solely by women.

Now, it looks like it may not get a chance. News of the series’ premature end comes several weeks before its season 1 finale is scheduled to air on November 1. Historically FX doesn’t often cancel its originals after just a single season and almost never mid-run in this way.

Showrunner Eliza Clark has promised to shop the show around to other networks, but it remains to be seen whether any will bite on this property, which has been more than its fair share of development delays and problems.

“FX has been an amazing partner. We have loved working with them, and we’re sad YTLM is not moving forward at FX on Hulu,” Clark said in a tweeted statement. “But we know that someone else is going to be very lucky to have this team and this story. I have never experienced the remarkable solidarity of this many talented people. We are committed to find Y its next home.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network’s decision to cancel the show had little to do with the series’ actually viewing numbers on the platform, and more to do with the impending expiration date of the cast’s options for another season.

But that same report also indicates that  HBO Max could be a natural future home for Y: The Last Man, given that Warner Brothers owns both the streaming  service and the DC Comics imprint that published the original comic. Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see what, if anything happens there, but the connection is enough to give fans some hope for the series’ future.

The first season of Y: The Last Man is currently streaming on FX on Hulu.