As the cast and crew of the sitcom Last Man Standing can say from experience, primetime success offers no concrete guarantees for a TV show's future, as the Tim Allen-starrer was cancelled out of the blue on ABC last year. Of course, Last Man Standing can also attest to the magic of being suddenly resurrected by a different network, and it's precisely that big change-up that gets some comedic attention in the first look video for Season 7 below. Nothing too subtle about this one. Check it out!
For those who may not have been able to watch, the video features Last Man Standing stars Tim Allen and Nancy Travis getting back into the thick of nature with a campsite sit-down, complete with a fire. But there aren't any major Season 7 plot points to discuss, or any big new characters to reveal (or any disastrous fire accidents). Instead, Travis gets to repeatedly point out "a fox" to Allen, who smiles and says someone will be happy to hear the name Fox said three times. (Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary.)
It's corny, sure, but it's still effective and silly and right in line with expectations. After all, Last Man Standing is one of the few traditional multi-camera sitcoms that survived for years outside the comfort of CBS' post-Big Bang Theory lineup. It's a show that is quite familiar with the setup-and-punchline comedy formula, in which the Rule of Three shown therein is king. Gotta stick with what you know.
Considering it's been 14 months or so since the Season 6 finale aired on its former broadcast network, fans are probably anxious to get some legitimate Last Man Standing Season 7 footage ahead of its fall return. But Tim Allen's completely tongue-in-cheek Fox gag will have to tide everyone over until some more teasers and trailers get released. I'm kinda hoping the next one involves the alphabet, so that we can get a good "A-B-C" joke.
When it returns for Season 7, Last Man Standing will be without two of its former stars. It was recently reported that actress Molly Ephraim and Flynn Morrison will not be back for the new episodes, meaning the show will be recasting for Mandy and Boyd. And at the time of this writing, Kaitlyn Dever is still in negotiations to return, which was made complicated by her taking a lead role in Netflix's upcoming miniseries Unbelievable. Other than that, just about all of the other main cast and crew members are set to return. To where? To Fox. Where? Fox!
Last Man Standing will make its long-awaited Season 7 debut on Fox on Friday, September 28, at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what other new and returning shows will be popping up before then, head to our summer premiere schedule.
