‘Last Man Standing’: Parents Television Council Wants Fox To Revive It

An advocacy group wants Fox to revive the cancelled Last Man Standing and replace it with one of its more explicit shows.

Many television viewers continue to be outraged that ABC chose to cancel Last Man Standing after six seasons despite strong ratings compared to other shows on the network. Over 100,000 viewers have signed a petition to get ABC to revive the show and produce a Season 7, though ABC has not made any reversals at this time.

Now, the Parents Television Council, which fights to protect children from seeing adult themes on television, is calling upon Fox to revive Last Man Standing, considering the show is owned by 20th Century Fox. The advocacy organization is also hoping that Fox will cancel The Mick, a comedy in which Kaitlin Olson plays a troublemaking aunt raising her niece and nephews.

“If Fox were to replace ‘The Mick’ with new episodes of ‘Last Man Standing,’ it would be a win-win-win, and how often can we say that?” Parents Television Council President Tim Winter said in a recent press release, courtesy of The Blaze.

Parents would win because there would be less-explicit content marketed to family audiences at times when children are likely to be watching. Advertisers would win because they’d have a higher-rated and much safer show in terms of content. Many sponsors removed their media dollars from ‘The Mick’ after learning about the program’s explicit content.”

The Mick is airing Tuesdays at 9/8c this fall on Fox, and while this falls outside the family viewing hour (8-9 p.m.), some may still consider it unsafe for young viewers. The Parents Television Council has been on a crusade against The Mick since it began airing in January. The group called upon the show’s advertisers to take their money elsewhere, considering the sitcom has depicted teens smoking and drinking among other more adult subject matter.

As for Last Man Standing, the Parents Television Council is arguing that it would be good business sense to revive the sitcom because of its loyal audience.

Winter argued that Fox’s “corporate shareholders would win, and win big, because of the future treasure trove each new episode of ‘Last Man’ would bring during syndication,” adding, “We urge you to consider our programming recommendation, not just for the wellbeing of children and families but, indeed, for the wellbeing of your shareholders.”

The cancellation of Last Man Standing was considered by some viewers to be an attack on the show’s frequent depiction of conservative politics and traditional family values, as well as being against its openly conservative star, Tim Allen. ABC argues otherwise, with the network’s entertainment president, Channing Dungey, stating the decision was made for “business and scheduling reasons.”

She added that her job requires her to “make the tough calls and cancel shows we would love to have on,” and cancelling Last Man Standing was one of those shows.

“Last Man Standing was a challenging one for me because it was a steady performer in the ratings,” Dungey explained. “Once we made the decision to not continue with comedies on Friday, that was where we landed.”

ABC also cancelled its other Friday night sitcom, Dr. Ken, after two seasons. In its place, the network is hoping to create a supernatural/fantasy block with Once Upon a Time at 8/7c and Marvel’s Inhumans at 9/8c.

It remains to be seen if Fox will pick up Last Man Standing for a seventh season, though networks have been known to make last-minute changes to their schedules even after the TV upfront presentations. For now, fans can watch reruns of Last Man Standing in syndication on the Hallmark Channel or Netflix.

[Featured Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images]