‘Last Man Standing’: Molly McCook Recasting Backlash Continues in Episode 2

Last Man Standing moved on from the subject of the new Mandy Baxter with the second episode, but fans were still upset about it on social media.

The new episode saw Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) dealing with the aftermath of his father’s death, and considering selling his marijuana dispensary, Bud’s Buds, as Mandy (Molly McCook) helped Kyle (Christopher Sanders) feel more at ease at his new position at Outdoor Man.

Fans of the series were too busy worrying about Mandy’s new appearance, to comment on the storyline — which saw Mandy helping Kyle with his wardrobe.

“Mandy is sadly miscast,” one user tweeted during the episode.

“Still don’t like the new Mandy… she tries way too hard!! Ugh.. I still watch the old seasons faithfully! I will watch them to ease the pain of the loss of the old Mandy!”

Not all of the messages were bad, however, as many viewers tweeted out their support for McCook’s performance.

“I’m already loving this new Mandy,” one Twitter user commented.

“Already used to this new Mandy,” another one wrote.

McCook made headlines ahead of the second episode when she told Entertainment Tonight she did not reach out to former Mandy actress Molly Ephraim to discuss taking over the role.

“No, we haven’t spoken about it in particular, but we do have a lot of mutual friends. I know that she has wished me well and all is good on that end. I’m very honored to be continuing the path,” McCook said. “The word ‘replacement’ has been used a lot. I think it’s so much more than that. It’s not just Mandy who’s different, but Boyd is different. Things are refreshed in general.”

Fans of the series’ main problem with the recasting choice seems to be how different McCook is from Ephraim, a fact that the first episode of the sitcom’s revival season made joke of multiple times.

One of the biggest jokes during the episode was that it took Kyle an entire episode to notice his “taller and blonder” wife.

“I love the show is back on but please bring the old Mandy back,” one Twitter user said.

“The actress replacing Mandy just doesn’t make it. Terribly miscasted!!” another one said.

“Really miss the “old” mandy on [Last Man Standing] When a show has a relapse you can’t change just one character who was a big part of it,” a third fan remarked.

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