The Last Man on Earth renewed for season 4

Kevin Estrada/FOX

Good news for The Last Man on Earth: It is not the end of days after all.

Fox's post-apocalyptic comedy — about a very small collection of quirky individuals who survived a deadly virus that wiped out almost the entire population of the planet — has been renewed for a fourth season, EW has learned.

The unconventional, well-liked comedy — which stars Will Forte, who also created it — was no lock for renewal as it has struggled in the ratings this season. (It has averaged 3.2 million viewers per episode and a 1.4 in the 18-to-49 demo.) Forte tweeted that his show was on a "serious bubble" at the end of April, but in a conversation with EW pegged to the May 7 finale, he sounded a bit more optimistic. "I had a nice meeting with Dana and Gary [Walden and Newman, the CEOs of Fox Television Group], and we really talked out the things that I thought we could improve and the things that we felt like we were headed in the right direction, and we all got on the same page," he said. "So much goes into the decision process, and I understand that it's not simple. So I'm so thankful that we have gotten to be on the air but we'll see. I'm actually a little more hopeful than I was but until you get that call saying you're coming back, you never know."

Last Man on Earth, which also stars January Jones, Mary Steenburgen, Kristen Schaal, and Mel Rodriguez, could be getting more star power in season 4 from Forte's former SNL castmate Kristen Wiig, who reappeared in the season 3 finale in the nick of time.

In related news about shows with the words Last Man in the title, Last Man Standing was cancelled by ABC on Wednesday.