The Last Man on Earth

It’s a Red Wedding kind of day at FOX. Just days after a cliffhanger-y fourth season finale for Will Forte’s The Last Man on Earth and days before Brooklyn Nine-Nine brings its fifth season to a close, FOX has pulled the plug on both fan-favorite series.

Our dream of a MacGruber reunion lives on. After a few scant Last Man on Earth Season 3 guest spots, Kristen Wiig will rejoin Will Forte with an extended role in the fourth season, along with SNL and Letterman alum Chris Elliott.

The CW may have TV superheroes on lock, but FOX may give them a run for their money later this year. The full fall 2017 schedule has been announced, featuring X-Men drama The Gifted, Gotham Season 4, Lucifer and all your new and returning favorites.

Well, there was no way The Last Man on Earth would end on a cliffhanger, or that Gotham would wrap up Batman’s beginning before Batman begins. As such, FOX confirms that both series will return for fourth seasons this fall.

There’s no one way to conclude stories set after the world’s end, but The Last Man on Earth certainly can’t leave us on Season 3’s finale cliffhanger. Season 4 is not yet confirmed, but creator and star Will Forte is at least optimistic SNL chum Kristen Wiig will get to reprise her major appearance next year.

The Last Man on Earth isn’t a show defined by its end-of-the-world mythology, but last week’s Kristen Wiig-centric “Got Milk?” filled in a few blanks with regard to the virus’ 2019 debut, including the successive deaths of President Mike Pence, Paul Ryan and so on. Trump’s name was deliberately excluded, though creator and star Will Forte now weighs in on the gag’s origin, and what became of the 45th President.

Three seasons in, The Last Man on Earth has revealed little of its history, only occasionally referencing the fact that the series takes place some time after 2023. As such, the Will Forte apocalypse comedy occasionally gets to have fun with our future history, as last night revealed the fate of the 46th president, and his entire staff.

We still don’t know if SNL and MacGruber pals Kristen Wiig and Will Forte will ever reunite for that MacGruber sequel, but FOX’s The Last Man on Earth will nonetheless get the two back onscreen. See for yourself, as a new Last Man promo for March reveals Wiig’s mysterious character, and apparent affinity for the ‘80s.

Near of the world’s entire population dies of a virus, and The Last Man on Earth still manages to run into celebrity after celebrity. The latest offers another SNL (and MacGruber!) reunion, as Kristen Wiig will appear on Last Man in a top-secret role later in Season 3.

FOX and Will Forte’s Last Man on Earth most always keeps its pop-culture references on the surface, save for anyone noticing Betty Draper in their midsts. Last year paid what seemed to be a quick homage to January Jones’ Mad Men past, but Sunday’s Season 3 premiere saw Betty finally get even with an awesome cameo.