Review: The Last Man on Earth, “Alive in Tucson” and “The Elephant in the Room”

The Last Man on Earth premiered with two episodes on Sunday, “Alive in Tucson” and “The Elephant in the Room.” I give it an A+ for creativity, but I’m not sure if I’m going to stick it out otherwise. Spoiler alert!

I was really excited to see previews for The Last Man on Earth for two reasons. One: Will Forte is funny. Two: the premise is so different from anything else on TV.

In the show, Forte plays Phil Miller, an ordinary man who survived a virus that wiped out everyone else on the planet. The majority of the first episode follows Phil as he treks across the country searching for anyone else who survived. He doesn’t find anyone, but he does leave signs around letting potential survivors know that he is “Alive in Tucson.” He then goes back to his hometown, moves into a mansion, and (at times hilariously) tries to figure out how to get by on his own. At the end of the episode, however, the last woman on earth finds him (Carol).

This disappointed me. I knew a one-character show wouldn’t be able to go on that way inevitably, but I was kind of hoping that it lasted a little longer. Introducing a second character so immediately made me feel like the show was cheating a bit. It made the premise feel a bit less creative.

Episode two follows Phil and Carol as they realize that they really don’t like each other. They do agree, however, that they should repopulate earth (and get married, since Carol refuses to repopulate without getting married first). This, again, felt a little rushed to me. I would have liked to see the characters develop a little more before getting to this point.

Another potentially problematic element of the show is that there are so many unanswered questions. Where are the animals? When will they run out of food? How are they getting gas for their cars? Will anyone check other countries to search for life, or will we just assume if everyone in America died, everyone in the rest of the world must have too? I’m curious to see how the show tackles these questions.

I’m also curious to see if other characters show up.

At this point, I’m not ready to stop watching yet, but I am a bit disappointed. Although there were several funny moments, I was expecting more.

What did you think of The Last Man on Earth? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Last Man on Earth airs Sundays at 9/8c on FOX.

Amanda Coyne

Amanda is an associate editor for Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer, teacher, and pop culture enthusiast with a love for 30 Rock and The Mindy Project. She is also the proud mother of two orange cats. Follow @amandarcoyne