Why this new sci-fi show will be a feminist's dream come true

By Fusion Staff | October 22, 2015 | 1:28pm

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Y: The Last Man is coming to FX, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show—based on Brian K. Vaughan’s instant hit graphic novel series from Vertigo Comics—is a misandrist’s dream… and a mens right’s activist’s worst nightmare. The story follows dopey magician, Yorick Brown, as he and his pet monkey, Ampersand, suddenly become the last living mammals with Y chromosomes on Earth.

Here are all the reasons why our bodies and DVRs are ready:

The show will cast SO MANY WOMEN

A show with only one man in the cast is almost unfathomable given the current state of Hollywood. Since the whole series hinges on the fact that there are no men left on the planet, we’ll be witnessing a historic, overwhelmingly female sci-fi show. Shove that in your Bechdel and smoke it!

There will be so many different types of women—DIVERSITY!

The woman appointed to protect Yorick (yes, the male protagonist needs to be protected…) is Agent 355, a bad-ass black spy in the elusive government agency the Culper Ring. In the books, 355 is the tenth person to carry that special agent number from the U.S. government, since the first real-life 355 who spied for George Washington in the American Revolution.

Dope.

Then there’s Doctor Allison Mann, the Chinese-Japanese expert geneticist who believes she caused the end of mankind—since it occurred the moment she cloned a (nonviable) human life.

Imagine Jessica Williams as 355 and Constance Wu as Doctor Allison Mann!! THE DREAM! Can you feel us nerding out yet? Because we’re nerding hard.

Sexual fluidity and gender are also major themes in this sperm-free world. How cool will it be to have a TV show explore female sexuality not for the express purpose of titillating men???

There are no superheroes!

Why is it that every show based on comics or graphic novels has to feature capes and brooding bodybuilders? Watching regular people overcome obstacles is way more inspiring. Just think: Who is more likely to save you when shit gets too real? Superman?? Or the fry-cook at the 24-hour diner?

Women get to be complex characters

When considering worlds and experiences in which a woman’s ability to survive is almost entirely related to her ability to coexist with other women, no TV series come to mind. The Golden Girls? Maybe that first season of Mad Men when Peggy was still a secretary trying to appease Joan? That was still a man’s world. It’s always a man’s world. Without the requisite 4 to 6 main male characters, how will we see the intimate relationships of these women as they work with, for, and against one another? In Y: The Last Man, understanding why men have been all but eradicated is a huge theme in the saga, but it most certainly isn’t the only or most important part of these women’s lives. If the show stays true to the comic, we’ll see women hate other women (like men hate other men) and not have it be reduced to “cattiness.” We’ll see women working toward a goal other than marriage or children. Having it all doesn’t mean a balance of working for a man and being a good mother—and that is why this series is so special.

Definitely check out the books while the show is still in development—and get excited for a truly original series.

Akilah Hughes is a comedian, YouTuber, and staff writer and producer for Fusion’s culture section. You can almost always find her waxing poetic about memes and using too many emojis.