“Last Man Standing” Season 7 is slated to premiere on Sept. 28. The seventh installment wasn’t supposed to happen since ABC decided not to renew the sitcom.
ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said that that reason the show got axed wasn’t Tim Allen’s political view. Instead, the exec attributed the decision to several factors including ratings, critical acclaim, and ownership structure, The Washington Post reported. Since the sitcom has a solid following and viewership, FOX decided to give it a new home and ordered “Last Man Standing” Season 7.
The family-oriented comedy gave ABC a consistent 8 million views every Friday, something that is considered impressive since a Friday timeslot means reduced numbers when it comes to comedy shows. FOX executives noted that even without ABC placing a lot of emphasis on promoting the show, the sitcom still generated a hefty amount of viewership. These execs then got curious what happens if a solid marketing campaign is strapped on the sitcom’s back, a curiosity which played a heavy role in them ordering “Last Man Standing” Season 7.
Hardcore fans of the show were devastated when ABC announced the cancelation but ultimately rejoiced when FOX picked it up. And this excitement was brought to a feverish degree when the network released a promo video for “Last Man Standing” Season 7.
In it, Mike (Tim Allen) and Kyle (Christoph Sanders) are seen taking not-so-subtle jabs at ABC and indirectly calling them idiots for canceling a show that “everybody loves.” It’s safe to say that the “Last Man Standing” Season 7 premiere will be filled with a lot of blunt and subtle mockery directed at ABC.
Of course, there will be the expected political jokes as well since Mike is written as a character who dislikes Obama and political correctness. But even if this was the case, a lot of liberals are still drawn to the show mainly because of the hilarious way of portraying Mike and his ideologies. It’s still uncertain how well “Last Man Standing” Season 7 will perform on FOX but given that the promo was received warmly, it’s expected to maintain or even surpass the numbers it got on ABC.