Created by Jack Burditt and starring Golden Globe winner Tim Allen (Home Improvement, Toy Story franchise), Last Man Standing was a fan-favorite series for six seasons before its cancellation last year. FOX announced today that they are bringing the series back to continue the story of Mike Baxter (Allen), a married father of three girls who tries to maintain his manliness in a word increasingly dominated by women. It was also confirmed by Lucifer lead Tom Ellis that FOX has canceled Lucifer after three seasons.
Tim Allen spoke on the Last Man Standing revival, saying: “Excited? Team LMS was in the sixth inning, ahead by four runs, stands were packed and then for no reason, they call off the game. It leaves you sitting in the dugout, holding a bat and puzzled. Now we get the news from FOX that it’s time to get back out on that diamond — hell yes, I’m excited! When I heard the offer to create more episodes of Last Man Standing, I did a fist pump so hard I threw my back out. It’s the fans! I could not be more grateful for the fans who wrote petitions and kept up the passion and incredible support for the show. And a fist pump, ouch, for Dana Walden and Gary Newman at FOX for not only listening to the fans, but for making the bold move to bring Last Man Standing back. I’m sure audiences will be curious to see what we look like after all these years. Oh, has it only been one year? Well, just goes to show you — a lot can happen in a year.”
“Last Man Standing ended too soon and the outcry from the fans has been deafening,” added Gary Newman and Dana Walden, Chairmen and CEOs at Fox Television Group. “We’ve wanted to put the show back together since its final taping a year ago, and Tim never gave up hope either. Thanks to its millions of devoted viewers and the irrepressible Tim Allen, we haven’t seen the last of Last Man Standing.”
Last Man Standing 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.
In less happy news, other fan-favorite series Lucifer, based on the characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg for Vertigo from DC Entertainment, has been canceled after three seasons. Star Tom Ellis took to Twitter to confirm the news:
It has been the most amazing experience over the past 3 years playing Lucifer and falling in love with you, the fans. It fills me with great sadness to confirm the rumours that some of you have been asking. Fox has indeed cancelled #lucifer I’m so sorry guys. #gutted
— tom ellis (@tomellis17) May 11, 2018
Joe Henderson, the showrunner for Lucifer, took to Twitter as well to share his heartbreak over the cancellation:
So… yeah. #Lucifer has been cancelled. And it fucking HURTS. I loved this show so damn much and everyone put their heart and soul into it. Heartbreaking doesn’t begin to describe.
— Joe Henderson (@Henderson_Joe) May 11, 2018
Lucifer is the story of the original fallen angel. Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar abandoned his throne and retired to Los Angeles, where he has teamed up with LAPD detective Chloe Decker to take down criminals. The show ranks 10th and eighth among all FOX dramas this TV season and is down 20% in the demo from its sophomore season. Lucifer is averaging a 0.8 demo rating and 3.3 million total weekly viewers through April 30th.
The series is executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, Idly Modrovich, and Joe Henderson. Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro, D.B Woodwise, Aimee Garcia, Tom Welling, Rachael Harris, Lesley-Ann Brandt, and Tricia Helfer also star.
The series finale for Lucifer will air on Monday, May 14 on FOX.
