‘Last Man Standing’ May Return To TV After ‘Roseanne’ Revival Success

Who wants to see Last Man Standing return to television? If you do, you may be in luck.

According to TMZ, Fox sources have revealed that the comedy, starring Tim Allen, is being seriously considered for a reboot (20th Century Fox was the company producing the show, even though it aired on ABC). If you will recall, Allen’s show was controversially cancelled in May 2016, despite its high ratings. Last Man Standing ran for six seasons, and was accepted incredibly well. In fact, at the time of the cancellation, the show was ABC’s second most watched comedy with 8.1 million viewers, just behind Modern Family which had 8.7 million, according to Deadline. It was also ABC’s third highest watched scripted series behind Grey’s Anatomy and Modern Family.

Fans were furious when they heard of the cancellation, and speculated that it was over Allen’s character Mike Baxter being a conservative and devout Christian on the show. Off-screen, Allen is politically conservative, and has expressed his support for President Donald Trump. Last Man Standing, which aired on October 11, 2011, and ran until March 31, 2017, with 130 episodes, was a huge hit because it was one of the few television shows that appealed to conservative views, according to Fox News. The show follows Baxter (Allen) and his wife Vanessa (Nancy Travis) as they raise their three daughters Mandy (Molly Ephraim), Eve (Kaitlyn Dever), and Kristin (Amanda Fuller).

Although Allen argued that the series was cancelled because of his Republican status, ABC said that was not the case.

“Politics had absolutely nothing to do with it – we have actors on our shows who have all sorts of different political views,” ABC President of Entertainment Channing Dungey said last year at the Television Critics Press Association press tour. “Tim Allen is a valuable part of the Disney ABC family and has been for a very, very long time. Last Man Standing was a show that, several years running, kind of came up to the very end in terms of the renewal, which was the same case this year.”

Now, after ABC’s revival of Roseanne had such high ratings, fans are calling for the network to bring back Last Man Standing. For those who have watched the premiere of Roseanne, you know her character is a Trump supporter with traditional conservative values. Despite this, the premiere was a huge success and brought in 18.7 million viewers, making it the highest-rated comedy episode on any broadcast network in nearly four years. The last time an episode had ratings that high was during CBS’ The Big Bang Theory premiere in 2014, Entertainment Weekly reports. After seeing the ratings, fans were quick to react, suggesting Last Man Standing be brought back to television for new seasons.

“@ABCNetwork do u see the type of ratings u got for @therealroseanne reboot? Now think of the ratings for @ofctimallen LAST MAN STANDING and other GR8 SHOWS like them [sic],” one Twitter user wrote, while another added, “I love the new Rosanne [sic] and I am so happy that there is a show that is helping and promoting the Trump supporter side but where is the fight and support for @ofctimallen for Last Man Standing I want justice for his show to come back I would love for both to be on!”

Shortly after Last Man Standing‘s cancellation, Allen thanked all of his fans for their support, and said he would love to bring the show back.

“The support from all the fans to bring back Last Man Standing is truly overwhelming to me and so appreciated,” Allen said in August. “I, along with the talented writers, wonderful crew and terrific actors, would definitely entertain the idea of bringing the show back as there is so much gas left in the tank, more to be said, and laughs to be had.”

Do you think ABC should bring back Last Man Standing? Leave your comments below.