‘Last Man Standing’ Star Amanda Fuller Says ‘Nobody Really Knows’ What’s Happening After Coronavirus Shutdown (Exclusive)

Two days before Tim Allen‘s Last Man Standing was set to film its season finale, the cast and crew were told to head home due to the coronavirus pandemic. The series was one of the many shows suddenly left in limbo because of the crisis, and even those who work on the show are not sure what the next step is. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Amanda Fuller, who plays Kristin, said they are not even sure if they can go back to film the end.

“I don’t know what we’re doing,” Fuller said Thursday. “Nobody really knows what’s happening, if we’re going to be able to go back and finish it.” Fuller later added, “If not, I guess we’re cut short an episode, 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.”

Fuller confirmed it was only the finale they had left to film before Fox shut down production out of an abundance of caution. They even rehearsed the episode for three days and were prepared to film on the following Monday and Tuesday. On Sunday, March 15, they were told no one was coming back to the set.

“We have a lot of people over the age of 60 in our crew,” Fuller explained. “A lot of them are from Home Improvement with Tim because he’s so loyal, he likes to use the same crew whenever he can, and so we just felt this responsibility to make sure that they were safe and protected, especially nobody really knew what this thing was, well, is. It just was getting worse and worse.”

“They were really trying to hold on and make it happen because we only had two days left to shoot,” Fuller continued. “That was it. It was like home stretch.”

At first, producers said filming would take place without a live audience, but they ultimately decided it was not to go ahead. By that Sunday night, Fuller was particularly concerned because she was at the hospital with her newborn son, Hayes Blue Howard, who has a rare blood disorder.

“I was, coincidentally, in the hospital with my son for other reasons,” Fuller said. “It was just a very strange time… I was trying to figure how I’d even show up to work because I was like, ‘How am I going to leave my son at the hospital?’ and then it just ended up not happening.”

The decision to shut down came down so quickly that the cast was not allowed back to the studio to clear out their dressing rooms.

“It was a crazy, crazy week and we haven’t even cleared out our dressing rooms,” Fuller said. “My dressing room is like a second nursery right now. I have a baby and I’m like, ‘I have all that stuff in there. I hope that the cleaning crew isn’t going in there and taking stuff out.’ I think the whole lot is shut down and we’ll be able to go do that when it gets up, but it was done without any [warning]. Even though we were waiting for it, they were so strong in wanting to hold on that we didn’t actually prepare for us to not go back and shoot it.”

Fuller said the finale was a “special episode,” especially for her character and she is “really sad” they could not film it yet.

“I hold hope that we can come back… I don’t know,” she said. “We’ll see.”

In the meantime, Fuller is at home, quarantining with her son and husband, musician Matthew Bryan Feld. The two welcomed Hayes in November. She jokingly said having a baby “in quarantine is really no different than having one not in quarantine.”

“The whole goal of every day is just to get through the day,” she said. “I keep saying that I’m jealous of all these people that just have so much time on their hand or are doing all these… like, ‘How are you being creative?’ I’m like, ‘How are you sleeping?’ We’re still not even getting a nap in. We’re trying to get the laundry done or get the dishes [done]. Every day, we have a tiny task that we’re trying to get to because it’s so hands-on. He’s moving and he’s growing and he’s doing all these things that it’s a full-time job with him.”

“It’s beautiful,” she continued. “I love that we both get to be at home and spend every waking moment with him, but, yeah, that’s been the whole focus. Outside of not being able to go grocery shopping easily and all that stuff, it’s just the same. We’re just trying to raise a baby.”

Last Man Standing airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

Photo credit: Michael Becker / FOX