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  • 2017-05-18 (xsd:date)
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  • Tim Allen Show 'Last Man Standing' Cancelled for Political Reasons? (en)
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  • When television network ABC announced that they were canceling comedian Tim Allen's popular sitcom Last Man Standing, many people -- including the show's star -- were shocked. After all, it was the third most-watched scripted show on the network, behind Grey's Anatomy and Modern Family, and received solid ratings: Some commentators accused ABC of canceling the show due to its conservative bent: Allen played an outspoken conservative on who often riffed on political issues such as Obamacare on the sitcom. Tim Allen's personal politics somewhat mirrored the character's, as the former Home Improvement star is a Republican who attended Donald Trump's inauguration. A petition that garnered more than 300,000 signatures on Change.org claimed the show was canceled because it was the only entertainment program that was not constantly shoving liberal ideals down the throats of the viewers: Inevitably, this accusation was boiled down into a meme eventually shared by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (a Republican): Allen described his experience at Trump's inauguration during an appearance on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying that he was almost afraid to say he had been at the event. However, his support for Trump was already well known, making it unlikely that the show's cancellation was directly related to his attendance at the inauguration. Although it's true that Last Man Standing drew solid ratings, Vox took a closer look at the circumstances surrounding the show's cancellation and found that a variety of reasons why the series might have gotten the axe. For one, Last Man Standing just finished its 6th season, and the show's cast and staff were likely in line for a pay bump which would have made the show much more expensive to produce: In addition to renegotiating contracts with the cast of Last Man Standing, ABC may have also had to look at its licensing deal for the show. ABC doesn't actually own Last Man Standing; rather, they license the show from 20th Century Fox: ABC also recently announced that the tremendously popular American Idol program would be returning to their network lineup, which may have forced them to move or cancel other shows to make room for it. ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said on a press call with reporters that she canceled Last Man Standing for the same business and scheduling reasons that led to the cancellation of other shows: It's unlikely that Tim Allen's politics were the sole or primary reason behind the cancellation of Last Man Standing. However, when asked whether politics played a role in deciding the network's lineup, Dungey said: Despite these claims, the network will soon have another Trump supporter on the air. The network is reviving Roseanne, which will star Roseanne Barr, who once said she became a Republican because of Donald Trump: In May 2018, Fox announced they would be bringing back Last Man Standing for the 2018-19 television season. (en)
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