The television adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last man has been gestating for years, and has had many ups and downs before finally going into production. But it has finally shot its first episode, and it contains a face familiar to many TV watchers. In the DC comics series, the main character of Yorick Brown has a pet Capuchin monkey named Ampersand, who also survives the mass global extinction of males along with his master. And the real-life Capuchin portraying the show’s Capuchin is a rather famous television simian. Fans will recognize Ampersand as Marcel, sidekick to David Schwimmer’s Ross Gellar on the classic sitcom Friends.
According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter, it was current FX CEO John Landgraf who realized that the former Marcel had found a new series to star in once he started reviewing footage from the pilot episode. Landgraf had once worked at NBC during the peak years of Friends, when Marcel would often show up. In reality though, Marcel is actually a female who goes by the name Katie. But once again, she’s gender swapping for a role in the upcoming Y adaptation. I guess she’s found her niche and is working it.
For those out there worried that Katie is too old to star in another series, no need to fret. According to her trainer, she’s currently in her mid- to late 20s and still has many years of acting left in her. Most Capuchin monkeys can live up to 40 years of age. But just because she’s in the pilot doesn’t mean the series will use Katie. It’s possible that a CGI version of Ampersand will be used instead for the actual show. But we’re all not-so-secretly pulling for Katie to get another shot at the television spotlight.
Image: Warner Brothers