Last year, ABC sparked an uproar when they canceled Tim Allen’s popular show, “Last Man Standing.” But now, it looks like Allen and the rest of the cast are getting another shot, as Fox resurrects the show for a new season.
After the abrupt cancellation last May, many concluded that ABC cut the show because of its strong Christian, conservative themes.
Looks Like Tim Allen’s ‘Last Man Standing’ May Have Just Found a New Home
Allen took to Twitter recently to say “your voices have been heard” in an apparent sign that indeed a deal is coming.
They heard all your voices people!! LMS just might be a reality. Keep it up. Who wants more #LastManStanding ?
— Tim Allen (@ofctimallen) May 3, 2018
It is not clear which network would be in the running, but Deadline recently ran a piece suggesting Fox was interested in carrying the show.
Allen even added to the claims, telling “Norm Macdonald Live,” “There’s nothing more dangerous, especially in this climate than a funny, likable conservative.”
ABC made sure to quickly dispute the claim as their top exec, Channing Dungey stated the show was dropped because “we made the decision not to continue with comedies on Friday.”
The explanation was odd, given that ratings were admittedly strong, even according to ABC execs, and many fans of the show were baffled.
From Deadline:
With a central character who is a political conservative and devout Christian adhering to traditional American values, the blue-collar comedy appeals to viewers in the Heartland, a constituency that helped elect Donald Trump as president and has been energized post-election as evidenced by the ratings success of new USA drama Shooter. That was also a swath of America ABC had been looking to reflect better, mostly on the drama side, as the network’s entertainment president Channing Dungey has noted this season.
Over the past year, the show was looked at by many different networks, but according to Page Six, some deals have fallen apart due to money.
ABC’s “Roseanne” returned this spring and has become a huge success very quickly. After seeing the success of “Roseanne,” which also contains conservative themes, 20th Century and Fox decided to look at “Last Man,” and has been in talks since.
The recent runaway success of ABC’s “Roseanne” revival prompted 20th Century Fox to reassess “Last Man’s” viability, and its sister network — which could use a comedy hit — was the logical home.