Cancellation Of Tim Allen Show Stirs Fans

ABC Television Network’s decision to axe Tim Allen’s hit Friday night comedy The Last Man Standing has caused consternation among fans who suspect the highly rated multi-camera sitcom has been nixed primarily because of Allen’s right-of-center political beliefs.

According to Heat Street, The show was ABC’s second-most-watched comedy this season, with 8.1 million viewers, only behind Modern Family. Deadline Hollywood, which broke the news of the cancellation, reported that The Last Man Standing was “hitting ratings highs in its sixth season.”

Many viewers of the show think that the decision is being made by liberal ABC, owned by Disney, primarily because the series is about an unashamedly conservative character (Mike Baxter) played by a conservative actor.

Bob Iger

Many fans of the show are furious on social media and are calling for a boycott of the network.

There are four petitions on change.org begging ABC to re-consider their decision. Neither Allen nor the network have commented on the move, but ABC is understood to be citing the fact it doesn’t own The Last Man Standing (Fox produces the show) and the show’s aging viewer demographic to explain why it pulled the plug.

It is, however, also possible that it has do with ABC‘s reluctance to promote conservative politics on its network, according to Heat Street.   It has been reported that Bob Iger, the longtime CEO of Disney, is flirting with an idea of running for president in 2020 as a Democrat.

He told The Hollywood Reporter back in June that “a lot of people—a lot—have urged me to seek political office,” but denied thinking about running for California governor or senator. (He didn’t deny the possibility of running for the White House.)

ABC’s beleaguered news division is also staunchly liberal.