Fox May Revive Tim Allen Comedy 'Last Man Standing'
Looks like last season may not have been the end for Last Man Standing" after all: Multiple media outlets are reporting that the Tim Allen sitcom may be revived by Fox.
According to TVLine, Allen has "signed a deal for a potential Season 7 and conversations are underway with key cast members and EPs from the original incarnation to join him." The star confirmed the possible revival on social media on Thursday afternoon.
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
"They heard all your voices people!!" Allen tweeted to followers. "LMS just might be a reality. Keep it up. Who wants more #LastManStanding ?"
TVLine reports that part of the inspiration to bring back "Last Man" is thanks to the surprise smash success of fellow returning sitcom "Roseanne," which features a conservative protagonist (and star). Allen himself has continually claimed that ABC cancelled "Last Man" because of his political views, though ABC has repeatedly countered that the decision came down to money.
There's certainly some truth to the latter explanation, since "Last Man" was wrapping its sixth season last year, and an upcoming contract renewal process for the highly-paid Allen would likely have been quite expensive for the network. Compounding the situation was the fact that ABC did not own the rights to "Last Man" -- 20th Century Fox, its potential new home, does -- and therefore the network would have had to pay that company even more to continue licensing the show. (That hefty pricetag is one reason that CMT, which airs reruns of the sitcom, eventually passed on rescuing the series.)
Now that Fox has its hands on the property, though, it remains to be seen if it will pony up whatever paycheck Allen may request. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Insiders stress the talks are on the early side and could break down ahead of the network's May 14 upfront presentation."
And Variety reports that even if a deal comes through for Allen, the status of some of the show's original costars is also up in the air, since both Nancy Travis and Hector Elizondo are attached to other projects. (Though in the case of Travis's character, who plays Allen's character's wife, producers could go the "Kevin Can Wait" route and just kill her off.)
Stay tuned to see if this deal comes together. If it does, you can expect a splashy announcement at the aforementioned upfronts.
[via: TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety]