THE LAST MAN ON EARTH Gets A New Showrunner, Maybe A Bigger Second Season
Just a few weeks ago, we learned that FOX's The Last Man On Earth would be coming back for a second season. This was probably inevitable - the show ranked as the number one new comedy in the most highly coveted demographics (so hot right now: "young males 18-34") - but still, there are no guarantees in the world of TV renewals. Those of us who dug the show* breathed a sigh of relief.
And today we've got a little more good news: Dan Sterling, whose credits include The Daily Show, The Sarah Silverman Program and South Park, has been hired on as showrunner for season two. He'll also be co-executive producing with current executive producers Will Forte, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. That's a murderer's row of comedy talent.
But, wait! There's more! Miller tells The Hollywood Reporter that they might be expanding the show's run for season two, stretching beyond the currently agreed-upon batch of 13 episodes:
"We’ve been talking to [Fox] about the right amount. We [don’t] want to do a full 22, especially because Will is so instrumental in the writer’s room, and he’s on set all the time and in the edit room," he said. "It’s really difficult to keep up the level of quality we want in that many episodes without him dying. (Laughs.) We want him to live."
Good point on maintaining that level of quality! I'd much prefer the abbreviated, 13-episode order with the show's consistency maintained than a 22-episode run that feels diluted. Maybe they could settle for something in the middle, aim for 15-18 episodes? Let the thing breathe a bit, but not give it so much rope as to hang itself? These are probably questions best answered by Sterling, Lord, Miller and Forte. They seem to know what they're doing.
No word on when Last Man On Earth will return, but hopefully it's soon. I already miss Phil's balls.
* = I loved season one, but the impression I've gotten is that people were divided, with those who wanted a one-man show on one side and those who loved what the series did with its expanded cast on the other. Am I right, or were we all onboard with what Forte and company were up to?
