Tim Allen’s ‘Last Man Standing’ to return

With fans of Fox’s recently cancelled Brooklyn Nine-Nine still both grieving and rallying for the show’s return on another network, fans of ABC’s cancelled Last Man Standing with Tim Allen found reason to celebrate as the network announced that it was picking up the sitcom for the 2018-19 season.

The news adds fuel to growing speculation online that Brooklyn Nine-Nine and its fellow oddball Fox comedies The Mick and The Last Man on Earth were axed in part to make room for Allen, who blamed politics for his show’s cancellation in 2017 after six seasons (ABC denied his allegations).

Last Man Standing stars Allen as the politically conservative father of three girls who, as described in the network’s statement, “tries to maintain his manliness in a world increasingly dominated by women.”

In the same statement, Allen turned to a baseball analogy for his feelings on the return of the series.

“Team [Last Man Standing] was in the sixth inning, ahead by four runs, stands were packed and then for no reason, they call off the game,” he said. “It leaves you sitting in the dugout, holding a bat and puzzled. Now we get the news from Fox that it’s time to get back out on that diamond — hell yes, I’m excited!”

The series, which is produced by Fox, “ended too soon and the outcry from the fans has been deafening,” said Fox heads Gary Newman and Dana Walden in a statement. “We’ve wanted to put the show back together since its final taping a year ago, and Tim never gave up hope either.”

Rumours of a revival of Last Man Standing began circulating in March, fuelled in part by the ratings success enjoyed by ABC’s revived Roseanne, which debuted to record numbers while also touching on politics. The show’s title character, played by Roseanne Barr, was revealed in the first episode of the new season as a supporter of President Trump.

Last Man Standing averaged more than 8 million viewers during its final season on ABC, and at the time was the network’s third most-watched series.