Last Man Standing: CMT in Talks to Save Cancelled Sitcom

Last month, ABC cancelled Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing TV show after six successful seasons, shocking fans and entertainment media alike. Now, CMT is in early talks to save the sitcom and greenlight a seventh season, much like it rescued Nashville, after the Alphabet Network’s cancellation.

A family comedy, Last Man Standing also stars Nancy Travis, Molly Ephraim, Kaitlyn Dever, Amanda Fuller, Jordan Masterson, Flynn Morrison, Jonathan Adams, Christoph Sanders, and Hector Elizondo. The ABC TV series centers on straight-talker Mike Baxter (Allen); this marketing director for the Outdoor Man sporting goods stores is a man surrounded by women.

CMT Considers Saving Last Man Standing

THR reports:

The Viacom-owned network is in preliminary talks to revive canceled Tim Allen comedy Last Man Standing. Insiders stress talks are in the early stages as CMT is exploring if it can revive the expensive show at a price point that works for the niche cable network. It’s unclear if a deal will be made as insiders cautioned that a renewal at CMT may be a long shot given the price tag on the veteran series. Also unclear is how big of a renewal the show could get as everything from a short order to multiple-season/20-episode run have been rumored. 20th TV, which has already placed calls to writers about a potential revival, and CMT declined comment.

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Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter after the upfronts, 20th Century Fox Television’s Howard Kurtzman singled out Last Man Standing as the most disappointing and surprising pass. “If there’s a way to bring it back, we will explore those opportunities,” he said.

A Last Man Standing revival would come a year after CMT revived Nashville after ABC canceled the country music drama. The series, starring Hayden Panettiere, became the cabler’s most-watched original scripted effort and helped launch its limited series Sun Records. CMT would be a natural new home for Last Man Standing, as the network sees strong returns from syndicated repeats of the comedy. The series would also help bolster CMT’s increased push for scripted originals, which includes Still the King.

Last Man Standing: A Look at the Ratings

The sixth season of Last Man Standing averaged a 1.15 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 6.41 million viewers. Compared to the fifth season, it was down by only 5% in both measures, which isn’t bad after six seasons.

Although when sorted by ratings demo numbers Last Man Standing ranks 12th among the 25 scripted ABC TV shows we’re tracking, in terms of average total audience size it’s a top three show. That’s a strong performance on Friday nights, when the available audience is smaller. In addition to performing well on ABC, Last Man Standing is successful in syndication.

One of the reasons ABC didn’t renew Last Man Standing is that the network does not receive syndication profits. That’s because 20th Century Fox Television produces the sitcom. Previously, the network had negotiated with the studio to secure lower licensing fees. That didn’t come to pass, this time around.

What do you think? Would you follow the Last Man Standing TV series to CMT? Let us know, below.