Last Man on Earth at Comic-Con: Will Forte teases season 3

The last people on this planet took to the stage at at Comic-Con to talk about mysterious people in hazmat suits, the chewing of rhinestones off a boot, Chick-fil-A, Canadian rapper Snow, the kissing of CPR dummies, and a cheese eulogy.

Last Man on Earth creator/star Will Forte was joined in the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel by fellow cast members Kristen Schaal, January Jones, Mel Rodriguez, Mary Steenburgen, and Cleopatra Coleman to riff on their post-apocalyptic Fox sitcom and mayyyyyybe offer the slightest of teases for season 3, which debuts this fall. Season 2, as you may remember, ended with Tandy (Forte) saying what seemed to be a forever goodbye to his brother, Mike (Jason Sudeikis), who contracted the vicious virus that wiped almost everyone off the planet. In addition, Pat (Mark Boone Junior) was headed with purpose toward our survivors in Malibu by boat — and with two armed hazmat-ed individuals in tow.

One of the more intriguing/ominous hints about the new batch of episodes was issued when moderator (and EW editor) Henry Goldblatt asked Forte to offer up just a three-word tease for season 3. After much deliberation and visible agony, Forte settled on: “New… Malibu… Death.” (That was slightly more ominous than Steenburgen’s faux-vexed response in the middle of Forte’s drawn-out answer: “Chardonnay, Chianti, Beaujolais!”)

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Forte also revealed to the audience that the new season kicks off exactly where the last one ended, and one of the two hazmat individuals who were with Pat has been cast. “We know already who one is — one is the guy who played Pat, played by Mark Boone Junior, who’s awesome,” said Forte. “We all know who the second person is, and I’m very excited about that person. We don’t know who the third person is. But it’s all gravy after that second person, and I’m excited for you guys to see who it is.” He addressed the apparent death of Mike by praising Sudeikis and noting he is an actor in high demand. “We didn’t think we’d be able to get him for as long as we did,” said Forte. “If he weren’t such a successful and busy actor… God, I would have had him join the cast forever. It’s very special to work with him. He’s like a brother, so to play his brother was really fun.” That sounded kind of past-tense-y, no?

What fun scene did the cast film last season, only to wind up on the cutting room floor? Turns out, it was a eulogy by Carol (Schaal) for a piece of cheese after the communal cow died. “It’s the last cheese that exists in the world, and Carol just makes a ceremony about it before they eat it,” noted Schaal, quipping: “It’s some really good acting work.”

Forte revealed a hilarious casting story about Mel Rodridguez that seemed like a perfect prologue to the Todd-hording-the-bacon story line seen in season 2. Forte had met Rodriguez on the set of The Watch and found him incredibly likeable, prompting him to consider Rodriguez for the role of Todd. And during the casting process, the two of them would hang out and talk about going to Chik-fil-A, which neither had ever been to. One night they embarked on their mission, but every location they visited was closed. They rescheduled for another day with great enthusiasm, and then, as Forte recalled, “I get into his car and there are frickin’ Chik-fil-A wrappers all over! Motherf—er… went to Chick-fil-A without me! But he is so talented that I had to still cast him.”

In one of the best exchanges during the audience Q&A, a young fan asked Forte, “I was wondering, since it’s called The Last Man on Earth, how many more people were going to join?” Forte deadpanned that six people, including Queen Elizabeth, would be added to the show before adding: “My answer to that is, hey, you know the movie Rocky, right? Are there other people in that movie besides Rocky?”

In other news: Jones’ favorite scene from last season was chewing the rhinestones off her boots; Coleman approved of Erica’s two twists (pregnancy and incarceration revelation); Schaal promised/threatened to shave her head in the room if anyone gave her a razor (when a fan offered a disposable, she said she’d need an electric one); Steenburgen can still rap a mean “Informer” on demand (as well as quickly recite the alphabet backward); and Rodriguez was revealed to be a better kisser than the CPR dummy dressed like Gordon. Oh, and when Forte was sporting the most tragic hairdo in prime time last season (“I don’t think anybody especially liked the look,” he noted), he had a close celebrity encounter at the Critics Choice Awards. “We were sitting right by Helen Mirren, and she kissed the bald part of my head,” he recounted. “I don’t know that I would say that it was a fan reaction because she probably didn’t know who I was. But it was a reaction, and it’s from Helen Mirren.” Fingers crossed for a special episode this season titled “The Last Mirren on Earth.”

Season 3 of The Last Man on Earth premieres Sunday, Sept. 25 at 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox. Watch our interview with the cast in the EW Comic-Con studio, above.

Entertainment Weekly is on the scene at San Diego Comic-Con. Go inside with all our coverage, available here.

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