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‘Last Man Standing’ Enjoys Unprecedented Ratings Despite Obvious Political Bias

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 20:48 PST, Nov 25, 2015

Last Man Standing, the ABC sitcom starring Tim Allen, is currently in its fifth season. Tim Allen has a unique sense of humor and a unique way of delivering his jokes to his audience, one that fans have not tired of over the years. But Last Man Standing allows Allen to deliver his own right-wing views through his character Mike Baxter in a way that is very rare for a TV sitcom.

NewsBusters reports that the Halloween episode of Last Man Standing offered a unique view of Mike that left fans chuckling. He was able to combine marijuana and guns into an off-the-cuff joke and still get a shot in on Bill Cosby’s crazy sweaters.

“Chuck: I’m gonna leave this candy with you. It’s laced with marijuana.
Mike: Oh, I get it. I get it. Funny black guy giving me drugs. Get a funky sweater – Bill Cosby?
Chuck: It’s from your dad’s pot shop. I gave him a ride to the airport. On the way, he remembered he can’t take that on the plane.
Mike: I’ll put it in my gun safe. Look at that – drugs and guns. I’m definitely a libertarian.”

Fans can catch this scene on mrctv. A more recent episode of Last Man Standing provided another opportunity for Tim Allen to let it all out when having a conversation with his grandson about patience.

“Boyd: I don’t like being patient.
Mike: Nobody does. It’s a learned skill. What do we call people that go willy-nilly through life, just doing things because it feels good?
Boyd: Democrats.
Mike: Attaboy.”

Fans of the show must be enjoying the witty Republican humor because, according to Deadline, on Friday November 13, 2015, while the eyes of the world were on the tragedy unfolding in Paris, Last Man Standing saw an 8% jump in ratings. Not only that, but Last Man Standing has also gone up in viewership by 10% to 7.47 million. That is astounding for a sitcom already in its fifth season.

An appearance by Jay Leno on Last Man Standing in October might have helped with the ratings boost. On the show, Leno plays a car enthusiast by the name of Joe and he knows just how to get under Mike Baxter’s skin. In a short video posted on Facebook, Leno and Allen talk about Leno’s appearance on Last Man Standing.

https://www.facebook.com/LastManStandingABC/videos/930811856998292/

Leno seems happy to be appearing on the show, in part because Tim Allen is a good friend and also because they have good bratwurst.

Fans could see going into season five of Last Man Standing that there were some big changes coming for the Baxter family. Perhaps this has also helped the ratings by keeping the show from being too static. Back in September, Entertainment Weekly interviewed Tim Allen about the new season and Allen explained the conservative take on things.

“They try to make Mike Baxter a caricature, which helps the liberal side be okay with it. I fight that, because I say his opinions are just as valid. I adore my liberal friends. I have nothing but honor and respect for their opinion. I don’t see eye to eye with them, that’s the only difference.”

Well, whatever Tim Allen and the creators of Last Man Standing are doing, it’s clearly working. With ratings like those coming out from this past week, the show is sure to be around for a long time to come.

[Photo by Michael Buckner / Getty Images]

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