Last Man Standing (American TV series)


Last Man Standing is an American sitcom created by Jack Burditt. It aired from October 11, 2011, to March 31, 2017, on ABC, and then again from September 28, 2018, to May 20, 2021, on Fox. The show stars Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, an executive at Outdoor Man, a sporting goods store chain headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Mike is a married father of three daughters and a grandfather to his eldest daughter's son. Last Man Standing was a joint production by 21 Laps-Adelstein Productions, NestEgg Productions, and 20th Television.
Last Man Standing originally ran on ABC from 2011 to 2017 for six seasons, and entered syndication in 2015. ABC did not renew Last Man Standing for a seventh season in May 2017, amid controversy. In 2018, Fox announced it had picked up the show for a seventh season, which premiered on September 28, 2018. In May 2020, Fox renewed the series for a ninth and final season, which premiered on January 3, 2021, and aired through May 20, 2021.

Premise

The series follows Mike Baxter, a senior executive and director of marketing for the Outdoor Man sporting goods store chain based in Denver, Colorado. His home life is initially filled with his wife and three daughters, along with a grandson. His life later extends to the young men who are married to or dating his daughters.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

  • Tim Allen as Mike Baxter: Mike is a father of three daughters and the director of marketing for the Outdoor Man chain of sporting goods stores. Mike staunchly supports traditional, conservative values.
  • Nancy Travis as Vanessa Baxter, Mike's wife: Vanessa is a geologist working in the energy industry. In season four, Vanessa becomes frustrated with her job and decides to become a high school science teacher. After being laid off as a teacher due to budget cuts, Vanessa begins her own tutoring business.
  • Alexandra Krosney and Amanda Fuller as Kristin Baxter-Vogelson, the oldest daughter, initially a teenage mother trying to raise her son on her own.
  • Molly Ephraim and Molly McCook as Mandy Baxter-Anderson, the learning-impaired, fashion-focused middle daughter.
  • Kaitlyn Dever as Eve Baxter, the youngest daughter, a strong scholar and athlete with military aspirations, and clearly Mike's favorite child.
  • Christoph Sanders as Kyle Anderson, a young employee at Outdoor Man, who initially dates Kristin but later marries Mandy.
  • Héctor Elizondo as Ed Alzate, Mike's longtime business partner, of Basque heritage, and later Vanessa's stepfather.
  • Evan and Luke Kruntchev, Flynn Morrison, and Jet Jurgensmeyer as Boyd Baxter, son of Kristin and Ryan and grandson of Mike and Vanessa.
  • Nick Jonas and Jordan Masterson as Ryan Vogelson, Boyd's Canadian father who later re-enters his son's life and marries Kristin. He is very "left-wing" in his views, and thus clashes a lot with Mike.
  • Jonathan Adams as Chuck Larabee : Mike and Vanessa's neighbor, a retired U.S. Marine who later becomes the head of security at Outdoor Man.
  • Krista Marie Yu as Jen, Vanessa's ethnocentric foreign exchange student from Hong Kong who moves in with the Baxters in season 7.

    Recurring

  • Robert Forster as Bud Baxter, Mike's widower father. Forster died October 11, 2019, prior to season 8.
  • Erika Alexander and Tisha Campbell as Carol Larabee, Chuck's wife and Mike and Vanessa's neighbor.
  • Carla Jimenez as Blanca Alvarez, the Baxters' Guatemalan-born housekeeper who also works for Mandy in her fashion business.
  • Sarah Gilman as Cammy Harris, Eve's soccer teammate and extremely chatty best friend.
  • Jonathan Taylor Thomas as John Baker, Kristin's boss at a fancy restaurant where she works.
  • Tye Sheridan as Justin, Eve's fellow Jr. ROTC member, football teammate and brief boyfriend.
  • Zachary Gordon as Andrew, Eve's nerdy classmate.
  • Joely Fisher as Wendi Gracin, Ed's obnoxious younger girlfriend, whom he meets near the end of season three.
  • Patricia Richardson as Helen Potts, The Baxters' widowed neighbor, who sees a lot of her deceased husband in Mike.
  • Bill Engvall as Reverend Paul, the new pastor of the Baxter family's church.
  • Jay Leno as Joe Leonard, a semi-retired auto technician who later works in the repair shop at Outdoor Man.
  • Travis Tope as Rob, Eve's boyfriend who is studying criminal justice at University of Colorado Boulder.
  • Susan Sullivan as Bonnie Davidson , Vanessa's mother who becomes Ed's wife.

    Production

Development and casting

Last Man Standing first appeared on ABC's development slate in late 2010 when writer Jack Burditt received a put pilot commitment from ABC under the original title Man Up. In January 2011, ABC green-lighted production of a pilot episode under the title Last Days of Man. On February 18, Tim Allen, who had been attached to the potential series from the beginning, officially joined the project in the lead role. At the end of March, Nancy Travis joined the cast in the leading female role as Allen's "smart and loving wife who doesn't miss much". Soon thereafter, Héctor Elizondo came on board in a supporting role as the boss to Allen's character.

Shooting schedule

On May 13, 2011, ABC picked up the pilot for the 2011–2012 television season under the new title Last Man Standing. On May 17, 2011, ABC announced that the series would air on Tuesday nights at 8 Eastern/7 Central. It debuted on October 11, 2011, with the first two episodes airing in a one-hour premiere.
On November 3, 2011, the series was picked up for a full season of twenty-two episodes. On January 12, 2012, the order was increased to twenty-four episodes.
On May 11, 2012, ABC renewed the series for a second season set to air in the 2012–2013 season in November.
On June 11, 2012, Tim Doyle was hired as the new showrunner of the series. Doyle was the third showrunner that the series had since it entered production. Doyle replaced Kevin Abbott, who joined the staff as the showrunner mid-way in the first season. Abbott replaced series creator Jack Burditt, who was the showrunner for the first thirteen episodes. Unlike Burditt, who is no longer credited as an executive producer, Abbott continued to serve as an executive producer while showrunning the fellow ABC sitcom Malibu Country starring Reba McEntire. Both Last Man Standing and Malibu Country aired as a part of ABC's Friday night lineup for the 2012–2013 primetime television season. On November 8, 2012, Abbott re-joined the Last Man Standing crew full-time, after a stint in rehab, and gave Nastaran Dibai full showrunning duties of Malibu Country.
On June 11, 2012, it was announced that Alexandra Krosney was let go from the show for creative reasons. Krosney was replaced by Amanda Fuller in season 2. On June 19, 2012, it was also announced that twins Luke and Evan Kruntchev, who played the role of Boyd in season 1, would not be returning; they were replaced by Flynn Morrison in season 2. The character of Boyd was also age-advanced from two years old to five years old. Jordan Masterson plays Ryan, Boyd's father, in a recurring role beginning in season 2. The role was previously played by Nick Jonas, who guest-starred in one episode in season 1.
The second season initially received a 13-episode order. ABC announced on November 12, 2012, that an additional three scripts had been ordered. On November 27, five more episodes were ordered to bring the second-season episode total to 18.
On May 10, 2013, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on September 20, 2013, and ended on April 25, 2014, after 22 episodes.
On May 10, 2014, ABC renewed Last Man Standing for a fourth season, which premiered on October 3, 2014. Allen and Elizondo guest-starred as their Last Man Standing characters in a crossover episode with the fellow ABC Friday sitcom Cristela.
On May 10, 2015, ABC announced the show had been renewed for a fifth season. Last Man Standing had become a solid performer for the Friday night lineup at ABC, which with the help of Shark Tank and 20/20 has become the top network among adults 18–49 for the night. Leading off Friday night for ABC, the sitcom averaged a 1.8 rating in adults 18–49 and 8.2 million viewers overall, according to Nielsen's Live+7 estimates.
On May 13, 2016, ABC renewed the series for a sixth season, which premiered on September 23, 2016.
The entire set of the show had to be rebuilt following its cancellation on ABC and subsequent revival on Fox in 2018, according to representatives of an unrelated studio company who visited the set and attended a taping of the show at Radford Studio Center.
On March 15, 2020, production on the series was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cancellation

On May 10, 2017, ABC canceled Last Man Standing after six seasons, despite the series being the second-most-watched ABC sitcom during the 2016–17 season, with ratings remaining mostly steady during its sixth season. The cancellation caused the show's fans to question its motivation, and many took to social media to voice their displeasure and petition for another network to pick up the show. It also happened some months after lead actor Tim Allen said in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, that being a Republican in Hollywood is "like 1930s Germany. You gotta be real careful around here, you know. You'll get beat up if you don't believe what everybody believes". His comment was widely criticized, especially his comparing the treatment of Republicans in Hollywood with Nazi Germany.
A viewer petition on the website Change.org calling for ABC to reinstate Last Man Standing surpassed 380,000 signatures as of May 23, 2017. In a conference call with reporters earlier in May, ABC president Channing Dungey stated, "Last Man Standing was a challenging one for me, because it was a steady performer. Once we made the decision not to continue with comedy on Friday, it was just kind of that's where we landed." Dungey cited studio ownership, future creative direction, ratings, and viewer engagement as all factors in her decision. A year later, the petition's signatures had grown to 438,000.
On May 16, 2017, Allen expressed his displeasure with the cancellation, writing: "Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years."
On May 20, 2017, Howard Kurtzman, president of 20th Century Fox Television, reportedly showed some interest in his studio continuing to produce the show. "We're starting to explore that," Kurtzman said. "... Jonnie and I are hopeful that we can find another home for it." Variety also confirmed in an exclusive report that 20th Century Fox Television would shop the series to other networks and streaming services in hopes it would be picked up for a seventh season; another home was not quickly found, however.
In August 2017, Allen expressed his appreciation for support by the show's fans to bring it back, and said the talent behind the show had much more to add.