The Last Man on Earth has been on my list for quite a while, and I recently watched it for the first time. It's a somewhat relatable premise in the sense that a virus seems to have taken the world by storm, and that's identical to what's happening in the real world, albeit COVID-19 is not as deadly as the one depicted in the show. From the get go I found the show to be really interesting. Although the title loses meaning by episode 5 of the first season with the introduction of Todd (Mel Rodriguez), that didn't bother me at all as I was completely intrigued by the story till that point.
It's a surprisingly funny show and as I mentioned, it is one of the best comedy shows I've watched as of late. Even though Will Forte's Phil Miller is an unbearable self-centered prick in the first season, he becomes really likeable second season onwards, and I think that the fact that he was able to play such an unlikeable character in the first season proves he's a great actor. It's also a show that had more heart than I expected it to have. Couple that with Phil's dad jokes and the occasional dark humor, and the show's achieved it's comic factor.
The other cast members of the show have strong performances as well. Kristen Schaal is great as Carol and the chemistry between her and Forte is impeccable. January Jones, Mel Rodriguez, Mary Steenburgen, and Cleopatra Coleman are equally amazing, and the various plots that follow these characters are interesting. I also really enjoyed Jason Sudeikis as Mike Miller, Phil's brother, and the chemistry between Forte and Sudeikis was really great to see. As I mentioned earlier, the show had a lot of heart to it and that's really evident in the relationship between Phil and Mike, I found it to be really moving.
Apart from the main cast, the recurring and guest stars were entertaining too. Boris Kodjoe as Phil was a good addition to the team as someone who actually knew how to survive since he was a Marine. Kristen Wiig plays a great socialite who starts off as a selfish person just like Phil, but later grows to be more caring as she leaves with Chris Elliott's Glenn. Mark Boone Junior played a crazed conspiracy believing survivalist really well, and Kenneth Choi as Lewis was a solid addition to the cast as well. Can't forget Fred Armisen for playing a creepy cannibal, for me he was the most memorable recurring character. Big name cameos such as Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Laura Dern, and Jack Black were really entertaining to watch too, seeing them appear for a few seconds just for them to be killed off was pretty hilarious.
For me, my favorite season was season 3, as a lot of my favorite storylines were from that season. Lewis (Kenneth Choi) learning how to fly just to be killed off 10 seconds after taking off in a real airplane, Gail (Mary Steenburgen) stuck in the elevator, Melissa's (January Jones) constant paranoia, the introduction of Jasper, and Todd and Melissa's marriage are just some of the highlights of the season. However, the rest of the seasons are really great as well, and I really had a fun time binge watching this show.
I wish Fox hadn't cancelled this show, as I would've really loved to see where season 5 went after the cliffhanger ending of season 4. I read that since Phil's group carries the virus, they will end up infecting the group of underground survivors, while probably having a guest star join their team as well. I would certainly love to see this show continue if any other network would ever pick it up.
Anyways, that's the end of my post, I would love to hear thoughts from everyone who's watched the show. Cheers!
