Last week, ABC announced it would be canceling “Last Man Standing,” a sitcom starring Tim Allen and Nancy Travis about a conservative Christian living with his family in Colorado.
Well, some conservatives are not happy.
A new Change.org petition is calling to save the show, which is set to end after six seasons, or else boycott the network. “Last Man Standing” was ABC’s second most-watched comedy, airing Fridays at 8 p.m. with about 8.1 million viewers behind “Modern Family,” according to Deadline. Some conservatives think the show was on the chopping block because of its portrayal of conservative values. (Allen, who’s conservative, has compared being a Republican in Hollywood to “’30s Germany.”)
“’Last Man Standing’ is one of the only shows on broadcast television, and the only sitcom, that is not constantly shoving liberal ideals down the throats of the viewers,” the petition reads. “And sadly, that is likely the real reason the show has been cancelled.”
The purpose of the petition, created by an unnamed individual from California, is to renew the show. However, the creator says they “will no longer be watching any ABC shows.”
“I have cancelled the DVR settings for the other ABC shows that I regularly watch,” they wrote.
The petition calls for 150,000 signatures and has reached almost 100,000.
While a spokesperson for ABC was not immediately available to comment on the cancellation, Vox noted that it’s possible the network made the decision for reasons beyond politics. The show has been on for six seasons; its viewership trends older; ABC licenses the show from 20th Century Fox; and, with new shows like “American Idol” coming, the network has fewer slots available.
But politics may be a part of it, too.
“Do I think ‘Last Man Standing’ would be coming back next season if everything else were exactly the same as all of the above and the show didn’t star Hollywood’s most prominent Donald Trump supporter?” Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff wrote. “I don’t not think that. I think there are a bunch of really good business reasons for the show to end — but I also don’t know that its increased reputation as ‘a sitcom for Donald Trump supporters’ didn’t hurt it just a little bit.”
UPDATE: During a conference call regarding ABC’s 2017-2018 primetime schedule on Tuesday, ABC entertainment president, Channing Dungey, attributed the cancellation of “Last Man Standing” to the network’s decision to stop scheduling comedies on Fridays.
