The Last Man on Earth was a pleasant surprise for Fox this past Sunday, having a strong showing during its debut.
The show attracted 5.7 million viewers, and a 2.3 rating in the highly sought-after 18-49 demographic. While this is only the fourth largest new comedy premiere, it also didn’t benefit from popular lead-in shows like The Big Bang Theory or The Voice as some other debuts did.
Instead, Last Man actually built on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which lead in with a 1.8 rating. It represented a growth of 28% over Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the key 18-49 demographic, and 56% growth overall. The ratings held throughout the hour-long series premiere.
The series stars SNL alum Will Forte as, you guessed it, the last man on Earth. It looks like Phil Lord and Christopher Miller — the writing and directing partners behind 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie — have made a habit out of creating hits in unlikely places.
The show follows along as Forte’s character tries to beat off boredom and loneliness while looking for company.
Without giving anything away, events lead to some unexpected moments that perfectly suit Forte’s style. It all creates a view of a post-apocalyptic world that we have not seen on screen before.
The concept is original, and was certainly a bit of a gamble, but in the very early stages it seems like the gamble might pay off.