'The Last Man On Earth's Return May Surprise You

It's fall finale season, folks, and that means your favorite shows are probably heading into hibernation until 2017, which is probably something you'd like to do, too. If you're a fan of The Last Man on Earth like me, you're probably bummed that Sunday, Dec. 11 marks the fall finale for Season 3 of the FOX comedy, which is airing at 9:30 p.m. ET. However, with Gail (Mary Steenburgen) still stuck in the elevator, Melissa (January Jones) still acting a bit... strange, and Tandy's (Will Forte) dino costume still sticking around, the Season 3 fall finale of The Last Man on Earth promises to be the "biggliest" one ever, as the preview for the episode says, even if it pains me to use that word. And as with any fall finale, when this one is over, I'm definitely going to want to know when The Last Man on Earth returns from its hiatus.

Unfortunately, the answer to my burning question doesn't seem to be available yet as FOX has not announced when new episodes of The Last Man on Earth will be back once the new year begins. The network has released midseason premiere dates for new and returning series, but The Last Man on Earth was not included on that schedule. Before you go worrying about the fate of The Last Man on Earth, I'm pretty sure its return will be announced at a later date since Episode 9 of Season 3 has been dubbed the fall finale and not the season or, God forbid, series finale.

It's a little difficult to predict when Season 3 of The Last Man on Earth will resume after this hiatus, though. Season 1 was shorter and premiered in March 2015 and ended in May 2015, according to TV Guide. Season 2's fall finale similarly occurred in December 2015, but the show didn't return until March 2016. This year, FOX will be broadcasting Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5, and the new series 24: Legacy will premiere right after, so my guess would be that FOX will wait until after that event to continue airing new episodes of The Last Man on Earth.

Right now, the cast and creative team behind The Last Man on Earth are keeping pretty mum on what viewers can expect from the fall finale and the rest of the season. I'd really need to see what goes down in what seems to be an action-packed fall finale before I can make any predictions about where the show goes from here, too.

That's probably for the best anyway, because The Last Man on Earth is one of the most daring shows on TV today. I mean, last season's fall finale was, on one hand, wondrously epic as Tandy's brother Mike (Jason Sudeikis) headed toward Earth from outer space, not knowing who or what would meet him when he got back down there, and on the other, shocking as Phil (Boris Kodjoe) died right before the end credits rolled. And when Season 2 resumed in March, The Last Man on Earth surprised fans again when the episode didn't update us on what Tandy and the gang were up to but followed minor character Mike's first moments back on Earth and the introduction of new adversary Pat Brown (Mark Boone Junior).

So in order to get the most out of The Last Man on Earth, it's usually best not to know too much.

Images: Kevin Estrada/FOX; Giphy (2)