Timothy Hutton Replaced on FX’s ‘Y: The Last Man,’ as Production Begins
Timothy Hutton is no longer a part of the cast on FX’s long-gestating “Y: The Last Man,” the network confirmed on Wednesday.
Hutton’s exit comes as several cast members have been swapped now that the show is entering production. Olivia Thirlby has replaced Imogen Poots as Hero Brown, while Ashley Romans takes over the role of Agent 355 from Lashana Lynch.
Originally announced as a regular cast member, Hutton had been hired to play the President of the United States. Now, Paul Gross (“Due South”) has taken over the role, but it’s no longer as a series regular. (UPDATED: Variety has since learned that Hutton was only hired to star in the pilot, and that his character wasn’t expected to continue after that. In the “Y: The Last Man” graphic novel, the President dies early on.)
But Hutton’s departure also comes following a report, posted online in March by BuzzFeed News, that revealed a criminal complaint against the actor that had been filed with the Vancouver Police Department. In the report, Sera Johnston told the site that she was raped and assaulted by both Hutton and a friend in 1983, when she was 14. Hutton denied the allegations.
Hutton most recently starred in Fox’s “Almost Family,” which was canceled last season.
“Y: The Last Man” is based on the Eisner Award-winning science fiction comic book from Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra about a post-apocalyptic world “in which a cataclysmic event decimates every mammal with a Y chromosome but for one cisgender man and his pet monkey. The series follows the survivors in this new world as they struggle with their efforts to restore what was lost and the opportunity to build something better.”
Originally picked up to series last year, production on “Y: The Last Man” was set to start in March, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the latest bump in the road for “Y: The Last Man,” which first began development in 2015. After being picked up to pilot in 2018, Michael Green and Aida Mashaka Croal were named co-showrunners, but later left.
Eliza Clark is now showrunner on the series, which began production this week in Toronto. She wrote the first two episodes, which are being directed by Louise Friedberg. Diane Lane, Romans, Ben Schnetzer, Thirlby, Amber Tamblyn, Marin Ireland, Diana Bang, Elliot Fletcher and Juliana Canfield star.
FX notes that all episodes of Season 1 will be directed by women, while the show’s department heads are also mostly female, including both DPs, the production designer, costume designer, casting director, editors and stunt coordinator.
Clark is executive producer with Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force, Mari Jo Winkler-Ioffreda, Vaughan and Melina Matsoukas. The FX Productions series is now expected to premiere in 2021 via FX on Hulu.
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