Y (TV series) type TV Show network FX genre Sci-fi

Shortly before FX was set to begin production on Y, the long-awaited live-action adaptation of the critically acclaimed comic series Y: The Last Man, showrunners Michael Green and Aida Mashaka Croal announced they were departing the project.

“Sad news for fans of Y: The Last Man today. FX has decided not to move forward with our series in its current form,” Croal wrote in a statement signed by her and Green. After thanking the writers, producers, and cast members involved in the show, Croal’s statement continued, “We hoped to reward their talent and their trust not just with success but with a show that had something to say, in a time when things must be said. As Y fans ourselves, we hope the future allows just that.”

Some fans of the property took this unexpected tweet as an indication that FX had canceled Y, but the statement’s wording was slightly misleading. FX has confirmed to EW that the network is moving forward with Y, but that Green and Croal were moving on “due to creative differences with the network.” The search for a new showrunner is now underway.

Originally created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra in the early 2000s, Y: The Last Man told the story of an apocalyptic plague that wipes out every mammal with a Y chromosome. Well, almost everyone — somehow, an unassuming wannabe escape artist named Yorick Brown becomes the last man on Earth. His monkey Ampersand is the only other surviving male mammal.

Back in February, FX released a first photo featuring Barry Keoghan as Yorick, wandering corpse-filled streets with a hoodie-and-gas-mask outfit that readers will surely remember from the comic. Diane Lane is set to star as Yorick’s politician mother, Senator Jennifer Brown (in the original comics, Jennifer is the highest-ranking U.S. politician left alive after the male pandemic). Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield, Marin Ireland, and Amber Tamblyn are also in the cast.

The new development is merely the latest obstacle in Y‘s years-long journey to the screen. A decade ago, Shia LaBeouf was attached to star in a film version.

Y is set to debut in 2020.

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