Did the writers consider any alternate endings?
Will Kristin Wiig return?
Find out in our Last Man writers' room walkthrough!
This part of the walkthrough looks at episodes 17 and 18 fromLast Man on Earthsthird season.
Previous installments of this walkthroughcan be found here.
ANDY BOBROW:Yeah, the discussion was like, Are we really going to do a birth episode?
I mean, birth episodes seem familiar and kind of hacky.
So the question was, should we just skip this?
Just skip to babies being alive?
Or skip like 7 years into the future and have kids instead of babies?
There was also a real question about the believability of this.
Hopefully we did it.
ANDY BOBROW:Ah jeez, I cant remember how that idea came up.
I mean, its a pretty Tandy thing to do.
We had talked about trying to bring back Boris Kodjoe, like in a dream sequence.
So the thought of Phil 2 in the show was top of mind.
Wills imitation of Phil 2 is one of those things that no one knows if they can laugh at.
Tandys certainly been a bit of an overbearing presence this season.
Why did it feel like a good idea to remove him from the whole birthing situation?
ANDY BOBROW:Thats a good question, and the answer is probably just what you said.
But the other part was more about the way the story had been set up.
He lost that battle with Gail in the previous episode, so his role in the room was established.
We could have gone there.
I guess the thing was, someone needed to see that fire.
And someone needed to say Oh Farts.
Did you know that youd be ending up at this nuclear fallout angle when the season began?
There are light references to it throughout the year.
KIRA KALUSH:We were always pretty set on doing a nuclear fallout this season.
For a while we thought it could be our mid-season finale.
So we were mindful of that, what it would cost.
And we kept thinking, well, maybe some better idea will come along.
As the year progressed, we really couldnt think of anything stronger.
Where the gang is just trying to avoid nuclear fallout.
Its nice that this material also brings everything back full circle in terms of Pat.
Its likely that this is just a way for them to move locations and get out of their element.
He was a fantastic misunderstood conspiracy theorist with anger problems, but it was his time to go.
Any lingering regrets from this season?
Or things that you would have done differently now that you have the hindsight of finishing the season?
ANDY BOBROW:I wouldnt say regrets, but there are lessons from every season.
I think the lesson from season one was Tandy needed to soften a little and love Carol truly.
Like can we deepen them the way that Mike deepened Tandy?
So Im filing that away in my story brain.
When you give a character an illness like that, the story is not theirs.
Would you have preferred to have still held off on it entirely?
Or are you content with when you brought one into the program?
KIRA KALUSH:Typically, our show doesnt skip anything.
Each season, played out in real time, is something like two weeks in duration.
And thats worked for us.
We missed old Melissa, we wanted to get to some baby stories, etc.
ANDY BOBROW:I wouldnt say we threw out anything good.
I mean, we talked about areas and then discarded them if they werent coming together.
There are a few I can remember.
And Tandy and Todd investigate and the find that he changed his identity after the virus.
Hes not Lewis, and he doesnt have a PhD.
Everyones dead, if he wants to be Lewis, let him be Lewis.
Most of the other stuff we didnt use was just jokes or bits, not whole stories.
At one point in the elevator, we wanted Gail to hallucinate talking to Gordon.
Like a real fantasy sequence where the Gordon dummy talks in Will Ferrells voice.
And theyre all excited.
Holy shit, another person.
They dont discuss it.
Just silently acknowledge it was the right choice.
I love that one.
Youve been around with the show from the start.
I think it was a really good season and Im glad we got into the supporting characters more.
I know each season has its high points.
For me, the energy of the show is best when everyone is working together and its an emergency.
The Phil surgery episode was truly great television.
I actually hadnt heard much complaining, but maybe Im in a coastal bubble.
I guess you could call that a rough spot.
KIRA KALUSH:I actually have a good answer to this one.
There was a pitch that always made me laugh, but its a giant fuck you to the audience.
I dont think we ever would have done it, but it still cracks me up.
ANDY BOBROW:Right right.
she shows up at the beginning and leaves them at the end.
Since she was game for more than one, we decided this was the way to go.
Do a standalone with her, and then have her show up at the end.
There were pitches that would have used more of her in the finale, but her availability was limited.
She only had a day.
As for season four, well once again, well take as much Kristen as we can get.
