After finding a new home on a new network, it appears Tim Allen’s latest hit series Last Man Standing is not leaving any time soon as FOX has greenlit an eighth season of the Friday night half-hour sitcom, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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It was all but guaranteed that the comedy series would get picked up for another season by the primetime network, as it received both better reviews from critics and audiences and earned highest ratings for the show since its second season on its previous network, ABC. FOX clearly saw the potential when it chose to revive the series after the Disney-owned network cancelled it and, despite keeping it in the same time slot, it proved to work better on the new channel.
“Last Man Standing roared out of the gate on FOX and has maintained its ratings dominance ever since,” Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn said in a statement. “Much of that credit goes to the incredibly funny and talented Tim Allen, not to mention Nancy [Travis], Hector [Elizondo] and the rest of the show’s great cast. We’d like to thank [exec producers] Kevin [Abbott], Matt [Berry] and the entire crew, along with our partners at 20th Century Fox Television, for overseeing one of television’s most popular comedies. We’d also like to congratulate them all on reaching 150 episodes — a milestone that’s well-deserved.”
The series, created by Jack Burditt, is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, and also stars Nancy Travis, Jonathan Adams, Amanda Fuller, Christoph Sanders and Jordan Masterson. The show averaged 8.3 million viewers in Live + 7 ratings for the 2016-2017 season on ABC. It was the network’s second most-watched comedy, after Modern Family. Among the key Adults 18-49 demographic, the series averaged a 1.7/7. The series ranked as the No. 1 new program across all syndication when it debuted off-net during the 2016-2017 season.
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Despite the new network shift, 20th Century TV initially owned the rights to the series, with ABC having to pay a licensing fee to the studio for every new season, but following Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of FOX and most of its assets, ABC will retain the primary rights to the show and FOX will have to pay a licensing fee in a rarely seen switcheroo.
“Hard to believe Last Man Standing hits 150 episodes this week, and it gets better with another upcoming season at FOX,” Allen said in a statement. “Great news for all of us who are creating these stories and working our pants off to make you all laugh. It’s another big high five to the legions of loyal fans who have faithfully kept us front and center and huge on the radar. Thanks to our family at FOX, who continue to make us feel so at home. Man, if we keep this up, they might have to call our show Last Man Unable to Stand.”
