Conservatives Blast Cancellation Of ‘Last Man Standing’

Conservatives on social media have blasted ABC’s cancellation of the Tim Allen sitcom “Last Man Standing.”

On May 10, ABC announced that “Last Man Standing” would not be renewed for a seventh season. The show had been popular among conservative audiences and had averaged 8.1 million viewers in its sixth season, making it the third most-watched scripted program on the network, Deadline reports.

Fans of the show swiftly blasted the cancellation, asserting that the Allen vehicle had been axed due to the star’s personal politics, according to AJC.

“Wow, [ABC] chooses politics over strong ratings, viewership and [money] by cancelling [Last Man Standing],” wrote one Twitter user. “What a upsidedown world we live in!”

“[Last Man Standing] cancelled despite high ratings,” wrote another Twitter user. “If you think Hollywood isn’t liberally biased you’re lying to yourself.”

Several fans were simply upset that their beloved program would not continue.

“I am furious… My husband and I love the show and Tim Allen,” wrote one Twitter user. “We will boycott ABC.”

In January 2016, Allen asserted that his writing staff was primarily left-leaning and that the program’s conservative humor was derived largely from his personal opinions.

“I brought that to the table,” Allen told the Hollywood Reporter. “I wanted to be provocative. Mike Baxter is an educated Archie Bunker … It’s a marvelous thing when you have liberal people writing for [a show like this].”

There were financial motivations for ABC to cancel the sitcom. After a television show passes its fifth season, salaries for the cast and crew typically increase when their contracts are renewed. In addition, ABC did not own the sitcom but instead licensed it from 20th Century Fox, profiting from its advertising dollars while getting none of its other revenue sources.

On top of that, “Last Man Standing” had an older viewership while advertising companies prefer young demographics, meaning that ABC could have decided that the sitcom was not worth further investment despite its solid ratings, according to Vox.

Finally, the show could have been canceled to help free up a prime slot for the network’s planned resurrection of “American Idol.”

Whatever the reasons, several online petitions calling for the cancellation to be reversed or requesting that Congress actually hold investigations into the matter have collected thousands of signatures, according to the Washington Examiner.

“With a plethora of ultra-liberal shows available on television, this show stood out from the rest and motivated conservatives who voted for President Trump. Please demand that Congress investigate whether LMS was canceled for political reasons,” stated a petition on PetitionCongress.org.

Sources: AJC, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, Vox, Washington Examiner / Photo credit: MingleMediaTVNetwork/Wikimedia Commons