FOX Circling Last Man Standing Revival, Tim Allen Set to Return

FOX is working on a revival of Last Man Standing with Tim Allen set to return. Deadline reports that 20th Century Fox TV is in talks with the network for a new season, which would be its seventh, and Allen has closed a deal to reprise his role as Mike Baxter.

The show was a staple of ABC’s programming for six seasons before it was cancelled last spring. Despite still having decent ratings, the cost of the show had gone up and ABC was looking to rebrand Fridays as a night for their genre dramas. Fans and Allen alike were critical of the cancellation and while 20th Century Fox TV explored other broadcast homes, talks with FOX fell through due to scheduling problems. CMT was engaged in talks to air a seventh season but the show was too expensive for the cable network.

Last Man Standing surely saw its hopes bouyed when Roseanne became a megahit this spring in its revival for ABC, with its lead character a conservative who supported Donald Trump. Allen’s character in Last Man Standing was a political conservative as well, a fact that some outlets cited as a potential cause for its cancellation despite the reasons cited by ABC.

At this time, there are still several deals to close and the return is not certain by any means, but the site says there are “promising signs that a seventh season is possible.” Fox and 20th Century Fox TV both declined to comment, though Allen posted to Twitter on Thursday in reference to the rumblings:

They heard all your voices people!! LMS just might be a reality. Keep it up. Who wants more #LastManStanding ?

— Tim Allen (@ofctimallen) May 3, 2018