The Last Man Standing reboot has picked up a former Dr. Ken cast member, reportedly tapping Krista Marie Yu to play a foreign exchange student.
Yu will assume a recurring role on Last Man Standing when it returns this fall on Fox, according to a report by TVLine. When the sitcom was saved, Kaitlyn Dever only agreed to return for a few episodes as Eve Baxter, the family’s youngest daughter. Once her room is vacated, Yu’s character will appear to fill the space.
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She will reportedly play a foreign exchange student from Hong Kong named Jen. Jen will not be introduced until the fourth episode of the new season, when she will apparently enter the story through a close relationship with Vanessa Baxter.
“Vanessa feels particularly tied to [Jen] because she’s interested in geology,” said executive producer Kevin Abbott. “Vanessa’s always wanted to encourage [young women] to go into the sciences.”
Through this connection, Vanessa will convince Mike to let Jen stay with the Baxters so that she can continue her studies in the United States.
Yu, 30, was in the main cast of Dr. Ken, another scrapped ABC sitcom. She played Molly, a teenage girl who was also fixated on her studies. Dr. Ken ran for two seasons before it was canceled.
Now, Yu will be back on the air in a new fictional family. The show first hinted at a foreign exchange student back in July, during the Television Critics’ Association summer press tour. Abbott reportedly teased an addition to the cast, noting that a new character would come from a “different political system,” which would pave the way for some “wonderful discussions and conflicts” amongst the Baxters.
As previously reported, Yu will not be the only major casting change in the reboot. The role of Mandy Baxter, the family’s middle daughter, will be played by Molly McCook rather than Molly Ephraim, who portrayed Mandy for the first six seasons. When Fox renewed the beloved series, Ephraim decided not to come back, leaving producers with no choice but to recast.
Likewise, Jet Jurgensmeyer will take over the role of Boyd, the Baxters’ grandson. According to a report by Variety, producers decided that Kristin Baxter’s son needed to be “aged up” for the revival, unfortunately meaning that Flynn Morrison was no longer right for the part.
Season 7 of Last Man Standing debuts on Friday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
