‘Last Man Standing’ Gets Bumped from Fridays in 2020 for Wrestling

Last Man Standing Season 8 will not air on Friday nights in 2020, as Fox has reserved that timeslot exclusively for WWE’s SmackDown Live, TVLine reports.

Although the Tim Allen-starring sitcom has been confirmed for an eighth season, its second on the network, it is currently unclear which night and timeslot it will shift to upon its premiere.

The bump was initially speculated in February after it was announced that WWE Smackdown Live would be moving from USA Network to FOX in 2019, bringing with it major scheduling shakeups.

“[In the] short-term, Friday night is going to WWE,” FOX Entertainment chief Charlie Collier told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. And as such, “We’ll look to stand [Last Man Standing] up on another night.”

The move isn’t necessarily a bad one for Last Man Standing, however, as the series enjoyed a ratings boost after being heavily promoted during Fox’s Thursday Night Football telecasts in the fall, and it is expected that similar promotion on both live sports events will help the sitcom gain even more of an audience during Season 8.

“What we’re looking to do is take these amazing promotional platforms…and send [viewers] to great stories” on other nights, Collier explained at the time.

Last Man Standing, which originally aired on ABC prior to its cancellation by the alphabet network after six seasons, was renewed for an eighth season in April, just ahead of its milestone 150th episode.

“Last Man Standing roared out of the gate on Fox, and has maintained its ratings dominance ever since,” Fox’s President of Entertainment Michael Thorn said when announcing the series’ renewal. “Much of that credit goes to the incredibly funny and talented Tim Allen, not to mention Nancy [Travis], Hector [Elizondo] and the rest of the show’s great cast. We’d like to thank [executive producers] Kevin Abbott, Matt [Berry] and the entire crew, along with our partners at 20th Century Fox Television, for overseeing one of television’s most popular comedies. We’d also like to congratulate them all on reaching 150 episodes — a milestone that’s well-deserved.”

In his own statement, Allen stated that the renewal was “great news for all of us who are creating these stories and working our pants off to make you all laugh” and that it was “another big high-five to the legions of loyal fans who have faithfully kept us front and center and huge on the radar. Thanks to our family at Fox who continue to make us feel so at home.”

Last Man Standing Season 8 will premiere on Fox sometime in 2020.