TV Shows

‘Last Man Standing’ Fans React to Jay Leno’s Return as Joe

Last Man Standing fans were happy to see another famous face return to the series this week after […]

Last Man Standing fans were happy to see another famous face return to the series this week after Jay Leno stopped by to reprise his role of Joe once again.

Leno’s character is an employee at Outdoor Man, the store run by Mike Baxter (Tim Allen). He appeared in nine episodes of the original series’ run on ABC, making his latest appearance in the season six finale “Shadowboxing.” In “Giving Mike The Business,” Joe made another appearance as Mike struggled to figure out the future of Outdoor Man.

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In one scene, Chuck (Jonathan Adams) said corporate conglomerate Arbo Industries bought Ted’s Tackle Box, which means Outdoor Man could be next. Joe wondered what would keep them from buying Outdoor Man, but Chuck told him to try to calm down.

“Hey, I have cats, OK! They need sweaters. They’re hairless,” Joe replied.

Kristin Baxter (Amanda Fuller) shared even more bad news. Arbo cut 30 percent of Ted’s staff, which really concerned Joe.

“My friend works at Ted’s. He’s got three cats. He just invested in a claw tower,” Joe said.

Joe also helped make everyone more nervous than they needed to be when he did not see Kyle (Christoph Sanders) come in with him. Mike told everyone not to worry, but he was more worried than anyone else.

“So good to see [Leno] again on #LastManStanding,” one fan wrote.

“Who’s that old funny guy with grey hair? Oh wait it’s [Leno],” another excited fan added.

Leno famously hosted NBC’s Tonight Show from 1992 to 2014, and has gone on to appear in his own documentary series Jay Leno’s Garage. He has also continued touring as a stand-up act and appeared in Adam Sandler’s Sandy Wexler. He has also voiced characters on Family Guy and Mickey and the Roadster Races.

The legendary comedian is not the only guest star to return to Last Man Standing this season. Last week, Robert Forster returned for a brief cameo as Mike’s father Bud. Forster appeared as a vision before Mike, since Bud died between the sixth and seventh seasons. Mike never came to terms with his father’s death until he started preparing to sell what was left over from Bud’s home. Bud also owned Bud’s Buds, a marijuana shop that Kristin and her husband Ryan (Jordan Masterson) hope to run themselves.

New episodes of Last Man Standing air on Fox at 8 p.m. ET on Fridays.

Photo credit: Michael Becker/Fox