‘Last Man Standing’ Series Finale Will Feature a Return From a Past Character

Last Man Standing will conclude by welcoming back one of its original stars. With the Tim Allen-starring series now in its ninth and final season, the series finale is set to bring back Kaitlyn Dever as Mike and Vanessa’s daughter Eve. News of Dever’s return to the series was confirmed this week as the show begins to film the final episode.

Over on Instagram, Amanda Fuller, who portrays Kristin Baxter on the Fox series, gave fans a glimpse of her final days on set. In a video that she captioned, “SERIES FINALE. DAY ONE” and set to R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine),” the actress gave fans a look at the script for the final episode, which, according to the video, is titled “Keep On Truckin’” and was written by Allen himself. The video also showcased a moment from the very last virtual table read, which showed Fuller joined by Dever as well as fellow stars Allen (Mike), Nancy Travis (Vanessa), Molly McCook (Mandy No. 2), Christoph Sanders (Kyle), Jordan Masterson (Ryan), Jonathan Adams (Chuck), Hector Elizondo (Ed), and recurring guest star Jay Leno (Joe).

At this time, Dever has not confirmed her return in the series finale on her own account, nor have any other members of the cast and crew who have begun sharing memories from their final days on set. Dever is also set to appear the April 8 episode, which will find her onscreen counterpart returning home and struggling to connect with her nieces, Sarah and Evelyn. She previously appeared in the Season 9 premiere. The actress had been a staple on the series for years, though since the series made the move to Fox following its cancellation at ABC, she has only appeared in a handful of episodes, including two episodes in Season 8. Speaking to PopCulture.com in March 2020, however, McCook, who plays Dever’s onscreen sister Mandy, teased Dever’s possible return in Season 9.

“She’s the best and she’s everyone’s favorite, which is completely understandable,” she said. “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.”

Originally airing on ABC prior to its cancellation by the alphabet network after six seasons, Last Man Standing was later revived by Fox. The network confirmed in October the series would be ending with Season 9, with Allen in a statement at the time explaining that “we had all considered to end the show after last season, but together with Fox, we decided to add a year so we could produce a full season to create the gentle and fun goodbye.” New episodes of the series air Thursday nights on Fox.