‘Last Man Standing’ With Tim Allen May Return on Fox

A year after its controversial cancellation at ABC, Last Man Standing is likely going to be resurrected by Fox for the 2018-2019 TV season, TVLine reports — with Tim Allen officially on board.

Sources tell the publication that Allen has signed on for a deal for a potential season 7, and that he’s been a driving force in the conversations that are already underway with key cast members and executive producers from the original series to join him.

Last Man Standing got the axe last May, causing an uproar among fans who speculated that Allen’s well-vocalized conservative beliefs contributed to the decision — although ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey stressed that the network’s sizable licensing fee to 20th TV was behind her decision to drop the show. Allen’s contract was also about to be up after season six, with a new, larger deal almost certainly increasing the cost of the aging show.

Allen himself added to the controversy last fall, telling Norm Macdonald Live, “There’s nothing more dangerous, especially in this climate, than a funny, likable conservative.”

Insiders stressed to The Hollywood Reporter that talks are still on the early side and have time to break down ahead of the network’s May 14 upfront presentation to Madison Avenue ad buyers.

The Fox revival reports come after Allen and the network’s studio counterpart, 20th TV, attempted to find the series a new home in CMT. Talks for a short-order or multiple-season/20-episode revival ultimately broke down due to the expensive nature of multi-camera comedy.

The revival comes after ABC saw massive success with the Roseanne revival, another show headed up by a politically conservative actor.

Like Roseanne, Last Man Standing appealed to a conservative audience and featured a main character, Allen’s Mike Baxter, who is a political conservative and devout Christian adhering to traditional American values. The sitcom widely appealed to middle America, where Roseanne also proved to be most popular.

Fox produced Last Man Standing when it aired originally on ABC, but current discussions involve rebooting and putting it on Fox.

What’s interesting about this deal is that ultimately, Disney may be the conglomerate that winds up owning Last Man Standing, should regulators approve Disney’s $52.4 billion deal to buy Fox assets.

Allen confirmed that the revival was close to becoming a surefire reality, tweeting Thursday, “They heard all your voices people!! LMS just might be a reality. Keep it up. Who wants more [Last Man Standing]?”