Tim Allen Gets Real About Politics in ‘Last Man Standing’: ‘Who Cares What I Think’

Fans may be worried that Tim Allen‘s political views may bleed into Fox‘s Last Man Standing revival, but Allen has one thing to say about that: “Who cares what I think?”

Coming on the heels of controversial tweets by Roseanne Barr that led to her ABC series’ cancellation, some fans remain on the fence about Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing, which was picked up by Fox following its cancellation at ABC. However, Allen himself is easing concern by saying that his political views and the series are two completely different things.

“It’s a funny sitcom that’s constantly surprising. It’s not a political show,” Allen told Entertainment Weekly. “I encourage the people who say I’m some closeted Hollywood conservative to forget about Tim Allen and what his politics are.”

While Allen has frequently talked about politics throughout his career, notably comparing being a Republican in Hollywood to 1930s Germany, he claimed that “my politics are really irrelevant.”

“I’d just want to say again: It’s not a political show. We talk about politics because everybody does…My politics are really irrelevant. What I do in my family, what I do in my neighborhood, that may be more of an indication of what I believe. But I wouldn’t want to say, ‘I can’t stand Trump so I can’t watch this show.’ Try to table that. It’s a sitcom that’s really clever where we work hard to make you laugh you’re a– off,” he said.

One of the more controversial and politically charged topics that the series will tackle is the issue of guns, an issue that seemed unavoidable given the fact that Allen’s character, Mike Baxter, is the owner of a sporting goods store that sells firearms.

“[Mike’s] store sells guns, that’s a touchy issue, so we’ll also have to deal with that,” Allen said, adding that the series also filmed an episode “about the political climate. Next week it’s about the empty nest…So it’s going to be one great theme each week seen through the eyes of a very tolerant integrated family.”

That family will look a little bit different when fans tune into the season premiere. While Allen is back as family patriarch Mike alongside Nancy Travis’ Vanessa Baxter and their daughters Amanda Fuller’s Kristin Baxter and Kaitlyn Dever’s Eve Baxter, daughter Mandy, previously portrayed by Molly Ephraim, will now be played by Molly McCook.

The seventh season of Last Man Standing will debut on Fox Friday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. ET.