The Prognosis Is Tim: Tim Allen Says 'Last Man Standing' Was Too Dangerous To Be On TV

With ABC's Last Man Standing now sitting in a darkened corner, lead actor Tim Allen is defiantly standing strong against the show's cancellation. If you remember the big axe or renew debacle of the 2017–2018 season, Jack Burditt's long-running show was promptly shown the door in May.

As one of the biggest shocks to come from the scheduling slaughterhouse, Allen maintains that it was all politics and refuses to give up the fight. The star has been particularly vocal on the axing of #LastManStanding, and is once again laying the blame at ABC's door.

Standing Tall

Appearing on Norm Macdonald Live, the touchy subject of Last Man Standing's fall from grace obviously came up. #TimAllen joined the show and the 64-year-old went on to lambast ABC, claiming his portrayal of conservative family man Mike Baxter was "too dangerous" to be shown on the network:

“I always wanted Last Man Standing to be like [All in the Family’s] Archie Bunker. Archie Bunker pushed boundaries, but Carroll O’Connor was not that guy at all. I am a version of that guy. But there is nothing more dangerous, especially in this climate, than a funny, likable conservative character. He is mitigated on the show by a family of women who had a difference of opinions, but [Mike Baxter] was a likeable guy and a principled guy about work and ethics and all this stuff, I think.”

The powers that be have always maintained that the show wasn't renewed due to a Friday night reshuffle to focus its shows on a different type of programming. ABC network president Channing Dungey is sticking to her guns that it was the right decision to make, but Allen thinks something smells rotten in Denmark. Still baffled about how the show came to be axed, Allen doesn't appear to be ready to bury the hatchet just yet and called out Dugney for the veritable sh*tstorm:

"I have no idea why they did what they did. You couldn’t have handled this worse.”

There was no denying that Last Man Standing pulled in some impressive ratings, but hailing from 20th Century Fox, it became increasingly expensive for ABC to license. While Allen says it could've helped boost the upcoming Roseanne revival, does it really matter now? What is done is done, and the ink is already dry.

There were hopes that another network would pick up the show, but early buzz from CMT died a quiet death. With six months since Last Man went off-air, it is looking increasingly likely that Allen will have to go back to a Home Improvement revival if he has any hopes of resurrecting any form of Mike Baxter's characterization. Who knows though, Allen could always play two roles with a Mike cameo for an episode in Tool Time.