Petition to Revive ‘Last Man Standing’ Nears 15,000 Supporters

Fans of Last Man Standing have been gathering virtual signatures, imploring ABC to reconsider cancelling the sitcom. As of publication, the petition is at 14,491 signatures, so close to their stated goal of 15,000.

The petition was started by Deb Barker of Willoughby, Ohio. Her message on Change.org is short and sweet, explaining that she doesn’t want to lose her favorite sitcom, and she’s suspicious about the reasons for its cancellation.

“Keep Last Man Standing,” she writes.” “One of the few family orientated tv shows that is tastefully funny. Something doesn’t smell right when they are cancelling a popular show.”

Many fans felt that the show was cancelled for political reasons, as its main character, Mike Baxter — played by Tim Allen— is a staunch conservative. Allen shared their outrage, and he lashed out at the network after they canned the show in the spring.

“I always wanted Last Man Standing to be like [All in the Family’s] Archie Bunker,” Allen said in an interview on Norm MacDonald Live back in September. “Archie Bunker pushed boundaries… I am a version of that guy. But there is nothing more dangerous, especially in this climate, than a funny, likable conservative character. He is mitigated on the show by a family of women who had a difference of opinions, but [Mike Baxter] was a likeable guy and a principled guy about work and ethics and all this stuff, I think.”

ABC made a public statement assuring fans that the decision to cancel the show was purely financial.

“Politics had absolutely nothing to do with it — we have actors on our shows who have all sorts of different political views,” said Channing Dungey in August.

In addition to ABC, CMT considered buying the rights to the show, but ultimately declined. Netflix also removed it from their streaming service. Barker’s petition says it will be delivered to ABC, but it’s unclear how the network might respond.