Last Man Standing: Season Seven; Fox Studio Still Hopeful Cancelled Sitcom Can Be Saved

(ABC / Tony Rivetti)

Since ABC cancelled the Last Man Standing TV show, the studio that produces it, 20th Century Fox television, is shopping season seven of the Tim Allen sitcom to other outlets. Last Man Standing also stars Nancy Travis, Molly Ephraim, Kaitlyn Dever, Amanda Fuller, Jordan Masterson, Flynn Morrison, Jonathan Adams, Christoph Sanders, and Hector Elizondo.

Will 20th Century be successful? Well, the sixth season of Last Man Standing averaged a 1.15 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 6.41 million viewers, and reruns do well in syndication, so they’ve got motive and something of a shot.  

Variety spoke with studio presidents Jonnie Davis and Howard Kurtzman, who were surprised by ABC’s decision to cancel Last Man Standing. Here’s more:

“That’s the one that’s really an open sore right now,” Davis said. Kurtzman added, “We really were expecting a pickup. The fact that we didn’t get a pickup was a surprise and a disappointment. I think no one was more disappointed than Tim Allen, such a huge star with such a huge following.”

But the series, which was ABC’s second most-watched comedy last season behind “Modern Family,” may not be dead. Asked whether “Last Man Standing” would be shopped to other networks, Kurtzman said, “We’re starting to explore that. If it’s not going to go forward at ABC, of course Jonnie and I are hopeful that we can find another home for it.”

“Last Man Standing” faces an uphill climb in search of a new network. After six seasons, costs for the series are significantly higher than those for younger multi-camera comedies typically are. And the buying patterns of broadcast networks this development season showed little appetite for multi-cams among most of the Big Four.

Some streaming services have seen recent success with multi-cams, such as Netflix with “Fuller House” and “The Ranch.”

And the studio heads are encouraged by the fan support that they’ve seen for the show since ABC confirmed its cancellation last week. “We know how passionate our fans are, and we’re seeing that now,” Davis said.

Some fans believe ABC cancelled Last Man Standing, because of Tim Allen’s conservative political outlook. Earlier in the week, though, ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey said cancellation was a business and scheduling decision. Once the Alphabet Network decided to remove comedies from its Friday night lineup, there was not another good place in the schedule for it.

What do you think? Will another network or streaming outlet pick up the seventh season of Last Man Standing, or is it likely to remain cancelled? Let us know, below.