‘Last Man Standing’ Star Amanda Fuller Says Kaitlyn Dever Remains ‘Part of the Family’ (Exclusive)

Kaitlyn Dever has been missing from Last Man Standing since the Season 8 premiere, but she is still part of the show’s family. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Amanda Fuller spoke highly of Dever’s work and what she has meant to the Last Man Standing team. Fuller, like co-star Molly McCook, called Dever “the best.”

Dever plays Eve Baxter, the youngest of the three Baxter children and the one whose politics lined up the closest with Tim Allen‘s Mike Baxter. In the world of the show, Eve is off at an Air Force Academy. In real life, Dever’s schedule is packed with new projects, especially after her breakout role in Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart. Her appearances on the show since it returned on Fox have been few and far between, making every return an event for fans.

Last Man Standing was just two days away from finishing Season 8 for good when the show’s production was put on hold due to the coronavirus. Fuller said it is not clear if they plan on coming back to finish the season, “which is really a bummer because the season finale was a really special one this year. I’m hoping that we get an opportunity to film it.”

“Kaitlyn Dever is so deserving of her success,” Fuller went on to explain. “She hasn’t changed a bit. She’s not too good for us. You would think someone in her position could just be like, ‘Okay, see you. I’m doing these things now,’ and she is not at all.”

Any time Dever is available, she will reach out to let everyone know, Fuller said.

“She’ll reach out to us and be like, ‘I’m not doing anything for the next few weeks. Put me in, coach,’” Fuller explained. “She wants to be there with us anytime she can and it just means a lot to us that she still feels like she’s part of the family and we’re just happy to have her whenever we can have her. And, hopefully, if we get a nine, which I think is looking positive, she has time where she can be in it more.”

Although Fuller did not give any details on the plot for the unfilmed finale, she did say it would be a “special episode,” especially for her character, Kristin. The early part of the season was filmed when Fuller was pregnant with her son Hayes, so Kristin was also written as pregnant in the show.

It’s clear that even though Dever has not been on the show often lately, the cast and crew still has enormous respect for her. Molly McCook, who plays Mandy, previously told PopCulture.com she hopes Dever could come by again too.

“She’s the best and she’s everyone’s favorite, which is completely understandable,” McCook said last month. “We just love having her around, and we’ve all been talking about her every day and watching her success. And I know that she wants to be back. So if there’s time in her schedule, I know that she’ll make it happen.”

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

Photo credit: FOX Image Collection via Getty Images