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Tim Allen, you can probably thank Roseanne for this: Last Man Standing is getting a new lease on life — and it appears the revival will stick this time around.
A year after its controversial cancellation at ABC, the Allen-fronted comedy is poised to be resurrected by Fox for the 2018-19 TV season, TVLine has learned. Allen has, per sources, signed a deal for a potential Season 7 and conversations are underway with key cast members and EPs from the original incarnation to join him.
Last Man‘s axing after six seasons caused a bit of an uproar last May, with some speculating that Allen’s well-vocalized, right-wing beliefs may have been a factor. Allen himself added fuel to the conspiracy theory last fall, telling Norm Macdonald Live, “There’s nothing more dangerous, especially in this climate, than a funny, likable conservative.” ABC‘s top exec, Channing Dungey, disputed the claim, however, insisting the sitcom was axed after “we made the decision not to continue with comedies on Friday.”
Cable net CMT later entered into preliminary discussions with owner 20th Century Fox TV to rescue the series, but those talks eventually fell apart over money.
The recent runaway success of ABC’s Roseanne revival prompted 20th to reassess Last Man‘s viability, and its sister network — which could use a comedy hit — was the logical home. Reps for Fox and 20th Century declined to comment for this story.
Yea!!! I miss this show! Hopefully everyone comes back.
i agree!!!!!
I’s say it be a flop, but the standards are so low on Fox for comedy it will probably be their number 1 comedy in years with 2 million views and a .8 in the demo.
Also they should have picked it up when it was canceled.
Last Man Standing was actually one of ABC’s highest rated comedies when it was cancelled. I think it was # 2 behind Modern Family in regards to ratings. This is the reason why it’s cancellation was so shocking. If it does move to Fox, it will probably automatically be the network’s highest rated comedy.
It was it’s second lowest rated show. And Tim Allen is hella expensive.
Cas; Check your facts.
No, you check your facts, Cas is right. I just did a quick check. The series finale of Last Man Standing got 6 million viewers and a 1.1. That same week all the Wednesday night shows; The Middle, Goldbergs, Modern Family, and Blackish; all got much higher in demo and total viewers by quiet a bit.
I’m sick of Tim Allen claiming ABC was against him. It was an aging show that cost more and more to make. ABC also decided to bring back Roseanne knowing her views, and shelved a Blackish episode this year because it dealt with Black Lives Matter.
A.C., Last Man Standing was one of ABC’s highest rated shows, on average. That 6 million viewers far exceeded the 5 million and less that shows like Speechless, Blackish, and the Middle gets (on average). You are thinking of their 18-35 demo, which it rates low in (but still in the top 10 of any of ABC shows). That’s understandable, since that show aired on Friday nights when that demo is usually out, not at home watching tv. But to the point, that show did exceptionally well for the “Friday Night death” timeslot. It was not just one of the highest rated shows on Friday nights, but one of the highest rated ABC comedies, on average. I don’t know why ABC cancelled a show that was successful. I never watched the show, but I do think ABC treated that show poorly. A show that had been on that long and got ratings as high as it did didn’t deserve to get axed with no notice. ABC should have allowed it at least a half season or more to wrap up it’s storylines and give it a finale. The viewers who watched it deserved as much.
Ann, ratings aren’t measured in viewers. It might have been the second highest viewed but that’s different from second highest rated. That’s what has caused the confusion. I think it will do well for Fox.
WROOOOONG!
Does anyone have a link to the ratings? I don’t actually believe they were beating Blackish and The Middle.
FINAL 2016-17 TV SEASON AVERAGES
(Ranked by demo)
MODERN FAMILY 2.1 rating, 6.9 million viewers
THE GOLDBERGS 1.7 rating, 6 million viewers
BLACK-ISH 1.5 rating, 5.2 million viewers
THE MIDDLE 1.5 rating, 6 million viewers
SPEECHLESS 1.5 rating, 5.4 million viewers
AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE 1.4 rating, 5.2 million viewers
FRESH OFF THE BOAT 1.2 rating, 3.9 million viewers
LAST MAN STANDING 1.1 rating, 6.4 million viewers
And then DOWNWARD DOG, REAL O’NEALS, DR KEN and IMAGINARY MARY
In terms of overall viewers, LMS had 6.4 million and the only show higher on that scale was MF. I’m not sure how the rating system works though that it only got a 1.1 rating. Probably demographics and the older audience doesn’t count as much? I remember Longmire going to Netflix after their cancellation. If I’m remembering correctly, the cable network believe their audience was too old regardless of overall viewers
Thank you!!!! These reports that it was their second highest rated comedy have driven me nuts. In demo it was not that great of a show – solidly fine for a Friday, but not anything to desperately revive after a year…
You’re simply the best. (Better than all the rest.)
Thanks for the accurate numbers.
If you allow the ..5 “Friday allowance” deduction for demo, then it can be argued that LMS was no# 3 in eqivalent demo and No# 2 in total viewers. It might also be argued that LMS would have been no#1 in total viewers if on Mon-Thurs night.
Total viewers gets almost no attention in Tinseltown. It’s all about that precious 18-to-49-year-old demo rating. If not enough of them are watching (and a lot of them aren’t watching anything on broadcast TV), it doesn’t matter how many viewers. If you’re over 50, your TV viewing habits are meaningless to networks and studio execs. As the song goes, “That’s just the way it is, some things will never change.”
Just wondering though, doesn’t getting a 1.1 on a Friday night mean that mean the ratings are factored higher than if it got these numbers during Sun – Thurs? It still wasn’t the 2nd highest rated comedy on ABC even though I enjoyed it and hope it does come back.
Agree!
YEP! LMS was beating Blackish and The MIddle, the latter being such a lame show. I replied WROOOOONG to the person who said LMS was at the bottom of the ratings. It was NOT! It was either #1 or #2. I sincerely hope Fox picks it up because ABC has gone so liberal rogue. ABC is all about Shondaland, and I am shocked and pleased they rebooted Roseanne. The Will & Grace reboot is a major disappointment; the writing is awful; the drama is WAY too QUEEN drama! Modern Family does the queen drama so much better.
I agree, ABC has gone so far to the left that it dismisses those of us that enjoy good old fashioned sit coms that we can sit down and watch with the family. I hope that they bring back LMS, it was my favorite show!!
The show was one of ABC’s most watched comedies, but not one of its highest rated. There is a big difference. Broadcast networks make their money from advertising. Advertising is sold based on the 18-49 demo because that’s what companies want to pay for. Total viewers are irrelevant. All that matters is the viewers that the advertisers pay for, and that’s 18-49. And based on 18-49 ratings, Last Man Standing was low rated. It was also expensive, and not owned by ABC (it was a FOX production). Add it all up, and the show was obviously no longer profitable for ABC, so they canceled it just like they would any other show that wasn’t making them money.
To me, ratings were always viewership numbers and demo numbers were referred to as key demo. Keep in mind, it aired on Friday nights, so you wouldn’t think that it would have a high key demo rating and ABC knew that when they moved the show to Fridays. I’m curious as to what the ratings and demo were before it moved to Fridays. I recall ABC moved it to Fridays to anchor a new TGIF-like block of comedies. LMS was the only show to survive.
Last Man Standing only aired for one season on Tuesday before moving to Friday. That first season averaged a 2.4 18-49 rating (and 8.6 million total viewers). The second season averaged a 1.5 18-49 rating (and 6.9 million total viewers). Here are the 18-49 ratings for each season, along with where it ranked among ABC’s other shows:
2011-2012 2.4 (#9 overall, #5 comedy)
2012-2013 1.5 (#14 overall, #6 comedy)
2013-2014 1.3 (#16 overall, #7 comedy)
2014-2015 1.3 (#16 overall, #7 comedy)
2015-2016 1.2 (#12 overall, #6 comedy)
2016-2017 1.2 (#12 overall, #8 comedy)
It was pretty consistent once it settled into Friday night. However, it should be noted that in every season after the first, it was the lowest rated comedy on ABC to get picked up for another season (meaning every comedy with a higher rating got picked up, and every comedy with a lower rating got canceled). So it was always firmly “on the bubble” as they say.
The biggest reason it got cancelled was because Fox wasn’t paying for it anymore, but would still get all the syndication money. If ABC owned I’m sure it would have been renewed. With Fox picking it up (since the already own it) It could do really well.
Yes yes yes so glad last man standing is coming back
No its not a flop it is a very good show thats why alot of people work ed so heard to get it back
True! The show was not funny. Home improvement was funny but his new show was not
did you even watch it, as yes it was,as most of the liberals got the best one liner’s including ryan when they switched him from nick jonas
Matter of opinion. It was funny to me. I laughed during every show.
I thought it was very funny and I also liked Home Improvement back during it’s time.
I say you need to read a 4th grade English grammar book.
I say LEARN some correct GRAMMAR!
Had to get through all the legalities before they could just pick it up, I am sure. I am just glad it’s coming back.
Oh my god if we lose Brooklyn Nine Nine and Last Man On Earth for this crap I will be so mad
That’s what I fear too. I’m glad people get a show they like back even if I don’t like it, but not at the expense of a show I like. My gut tells me LMS will get a Sunday timeslot. I’m hoping B99 or LMOE or maybe both might be lucky to get a short final season.
Last Man on Earth is done. B99 should be back tho I’d think to some capacity. They brought back New Girl when they didn’t need to so they should de the same for B99
I think they would drop either The Mick or LA to Vegas before B99 or LMS, but who knows. My question is how will they afford Tim Allen? He’s not cheap. Will they need to cut a more expensive show in order to pay for him?
Whoops – meant LMOE, not LMS
They’ll renegotiate his contract since the show ended and will start over they will likely not have to give him that huge raise he had coming.
big cheddar money wasn’t the issuse, it was tim’s politics, and also if you had seen like tim allen, other cast members and also wgn americawho started airing re-runs weds, they had been dropping subtle hints that an announcement on the revival was coming that fox had been eyeing since the end of march after the roseanne re-boot, and i can tell you at least the first episode will likely dwarf what roseanne got, although the streaming might not be as big, as much like abc.com,if you don’t have a local affilate, you can’t watch lms the next day, you have to wait a week
Along with some other series I like…holding breath but not looking good…drat!
I doubt we’d lose one FOR the other. If they are going to cancel a show they will, if they are going to bring in a new show they will. I hope we don’t lose B99, but my hope is that there’s room for both.
Last man on earth is crap 💩!
Actually I don’t completely disagree and shouldn’t have included it here. I enjoy the originality of Last Man on Earth and want it to get a final season to wrap it up, but I do spend 90% of the time thinking the show is stupid and if it’s canceled I’ll be fine lol
Not going to discuss “crap I will be so mad” comment … except for Grow Up but RESPECT & capitalize God’s name Anytime you use it.
I’m not a Trump supporter, by any stretch of the imagination, but I like Tim Allen, & the show timely & funny, Like Roseanne! Even the jokes about Obama!
Me too!!!!
I think it’s kind of sad that some people can’t enjoy a show if an actor is associated with a political party. I never saw Allen’s show but if there’s an audience for it, it should be on the air.
Really?? How many conservatives get pissed off and boycott or attack show just because an actor or a host says something unfavourable about Trump. Heck you just need to look at the comments on this site if you need proof.
That’s pretty MASSIVE double standard.
Lol! There would be Almost nothing left to watch if that were the case.
Are you serious. When is the last time republicans protested because they didn’t like who got elected. Never, we didn’t like obama or clinton, but we lived with the election results.
Me too. Will be good to have Last Man Standing back. Now I hope they bring out the last couple of seasons on DVD.
It’s a great show. And I’m 100 percent blue and as liberal as they come. Everyone gets a fair shake on this show.
His character was pretty up front on the show about how right wing he was. When you alienate 70% of the people in the US with your political views, the network will lose advertisers and the show is going to get cancelled. It’ll be a better fit for FOX. Now maybe then can get better wrtiters and actually make it funny.
I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure if 70% of the country were liberals, there would be a different president.
Yup… you said it, you’re no expert.
70% of Americans are registered as Democrat? Really? I might buy 45% but definitely not 70%. So I’d say KristyK is a better expert than you, sorry LT.
You don’t have to registered as a Democrat to be liberal. Or a Rebuplican to be conservative.
Nice.
Lt. I am an expert. And He’s right. Check the nationally statistics database.
amendment. Let’s start by checking that on average about 20% of Americans are 3rd party. Favoring neither reps or dems. If 70% are liberal that would leave roughly 10% as Republicans. Does that even sound right?
30% of the country is liberal.
30% of the country is conservative.
40% of the country is smart, sane, independents who get screwed over by the 60% of morons.
Agree completely about us Independents. Plus since when do you have to agree with an actor’s opinions or political party to enjoy their shows or movies?
Ha ha, I’m a Republican and I agree with you. Lol
You’re way off base Michael! When it was cancelled, Last Man Standing was ABC’s 2nd highest rated comedy! As a ‘so called liberal’ I watched the show regulary, & found it funny! A show doesn’t have to express my views for me to watch it!
Last time I checked, 70% of this country are NOT liberal.
It’s more like 30% alienation. The majority of the population is pretty moderate. I’d say 30% liberal and 30% conservative. with 60% moderates, which is why we get a Democrat and Republican ever 4-8 years. If it was 70% liberal, we’d always have a Democratic president. Extremists needs to understand that their views are not shared by a majority of either side. Besides, the majority of people can put away their politics for a good show.
70%?
LOL
I agree lmao
I think he is the modern day Archie bunker.
I don’t know why FOX didn’t immediately put the show on their network when it was canceled in the first place. They were the ones who made the best profit off it. And it’s not like the network had too many high rating comedies. In fact, comedies is where they hurt the most. They could have used a known quantity. The only thing I can think of is a family sitcom didn’t fit with their brand of sitcoms at the time. Still doesn’t really, but they might be changing that. They could be looking to add another family sitcom to pair with it. Or might just put it with the Sunday animated comedies.
because it cited many of the same reasons that cmt and abc first did costs, but once roseanne had the big ratings for the 1st episode, fox rethunk it, and i think much like the first episdode of the roseanne reboot, it will have monster ratings, and continue to have them
I knew the cost wouldn’t be as a big a problem for FOX as it was for ABC & CMT because of it being an in-house production, but if that’s the reason (and it seems most likely), then I hate even more the BS from when it was cancelled about it just being about politics. Because it’s always about money. ABC would have aired a half-hour of a picture of Trump’s face if they thought they could get the ratings out of it and make money from it. Obviously FOX didn’t think at the time the show was anymore bankable than ABC or CMT did to offset costs. And it really didn’t fit with their current lineup of comedies which aside from animation are not family sitcoms. Still doesn’t really. People really should have let this go and admitted it was just about not seeing the cost supporting the revenue, but bullheaded emotion always gets people going more than logic. (I’ve fallen victim to that as well when shows I like get cancelled. Never used politics as an excuse, but I’ve been stubborn enough to blame a network for cancelling a show despite knowing the ratings didn’t make it work.) I’m not so sure about the ratings for LMS. It might have very good ratings, and probably better ratings for most comedies at FOX. But the difference here is that Roseanne was off the air for a lot longer and had strong ratings when it left television. Nostalgia plays a key part in why people are watching Roseanne. And LMS has only been gone a year. LMS had middling ratings at best. Good for a Friday timeslot, but probably would have not faired well anywhere else during the week on ABC. That might change for FOX, but comparing ratings overall ABC seems to be doing better than FOX at the moment. At best they equal out when you take the current Roseanne ratings out of the mix. Politics might play a part in why some individual people watch a show, but I’ve never seen it be enough to make a huge difference in numbers. As I’ve seen a fair number of people watching Roseanne be from both sides of spectrum watching. And that was likely true of LMS as well. But again if I had to bet money on what really brings in the ratings for Roseanne, I think it was the nostalgia, and I just don’t think LMS has been gone long enough or had that big enough of an original audience to bring in big ratings. I do think they could get good ratings though for FOX. Possibly better ratings than they had when they were on ABC. But I do believe that seeing the Roseanne ratings is what led FOX to strike while the iron is still hot. Even though I don’t think it will play out as big as FOX hopes because the nostalgia factor is just not there. But they could probably get solid enough ratings to offset production costs. Now if someone wanted to revive Home Improvement, that would work the nostalgia factor into some monster ratings.
Politics aside, I watched Roseanne faithfully in its original incarnation. I’ve never watched a single episode of Last Man Standing or that show he was on before with the neighbour whose face you never saw – Home Improvement – because Tim Allen and the kind of characters he plays have never held my interest.
But Roseanne was a monster hit. Last Man Standing wasn’t. Not ever. If they want to cash in on nostalgia they should bring back Home Improvement – which WAS a monster hit.
I think this is a much better fit for Fox than it was for ABC, Tim Allen’s past work with Disney notwithstanding
Hopefully between this and Roseanne the slack jawed MAGAts in this country will be too busy to hold their increasingly frightening white power rallies.
Last man standing is the best… i have so missed this gem… the reruns i still watch daily and laugh out loud as if it was the first time watching it
Excellent news!
OMG I’m so happy!!!!!
This makes me so happy!!! I love this show so much. I always thought the show did a great job showing both sides. Both the father and son-in-law gave as well as they got. Their bickering was great and I’m sure his son will have great material now that a republican is in office.
This show could live on to see 10 seasons. Maybe on Fox it can kind of be it’s Married with Children to some degree
I’m as much of a Trump-hating liberal as anyone, but this show was hilarious. Also, wayyyy less conservative than the idiots seem to think
I agree that the show is less conservative than the idiots seem to think, but those idiots were conservatives and Tim Allen. The show was really never talked about as some flagship for conservative people until it was canceled and Tim Allen threw a fit because he’s conservative, and then suddenly conservatives cared. The facts were it was a 6 year old show with middling ratings and an expensive star and it was unowned by ABC, that’s why it was canceled. It turned into a political thing after that.
Best news of the day…. My favorite show.
Bring back last man standing
YAY AMAZING NEWS!! Not a Trump supporter but love Tim Allen! This would be a no-brainer for FOX!
I miss this show. Glad to hear it could be coming back.
Hallelujah!
That would be great and with same cast. It was cancelled due to politics which should not come in to play. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that.
It was cancelled due to ratings and thus money. It always comes down to money. If it were about politics, Roseanne wouldn’t have made it on the air again.
I wish she didn’t!!!
I enjoyed this show. But it just went off the air and ran for 6 seasons? How about a Home Improvement revival?
It is unlikely Tim could do both shows at the same time so it would be about the money which show is cheaper to make and gets us the biggest amount of money. Would I like to see a home improvement reboot of course but if it is true this show is coming back then a reboot is unlikely.
I hope this means TBS reviving “2 Broke Girls” as well. I sure wish Warner Bros. didn’t wimp out and release that “Complete Series” DVD set after its CBS cancellation, though, I stopped holding out hope for a “2BG” channel-hop after the set was announced. This news will make some glad that 20th Century Fox didn’t release a “Complete Series” set of “LMS” upon its cancellation by ABC Network.
Seriously? Comparing this drivel with Roseanne is just plain crazy! Roseanne’s success has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS. (Anyone notice that her ratings have gone down? Slightly but significantly. I think the Trumpsters and the conservatives rallied for the first show and then realized it really represents values they can’t handle) Roseanne was (and is) a well written, cutting-edge comedy. Jeez: Last Man Standing isn’t even Tim Allen’s best tv show! Junk!
Bring back Last Man Standing. The cast is talented and the story line relatable and timely.
I love how the family is mixed ideas and ideals and tease each other and at the same time supportive.
Give it a chance with a good time and you will have a success on your hands.
I agree. And I’m a liberal. Love love this show.
I will love to have last man standing coming back thanks