A fan’s petition to ABC Television to revive the now-canceled blue-collar sitcom Last Man Standing has received more than 100,000 signatures in less than a week.
The Change.org petition titled “Save Tim Allen’s Show ‘Last Man Standing'” — launched by a fan calling himself “Deputy Matt” last week — had received 109,186 signatures as of late Tuesday morning.
“Last Man Standing stands out in the sea of network television sitcoms. It is a show that appeals to a broad swath of Americans who find very few shows that extol the virtues with which they can identify; namely conservative values,” the petition creator wrote.
“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 adds. “And sadly, that is likely the real reason the show has been cancelled.”
The Tim Allen-starring sitcom was abruptly canceled on Wednesday after six seasons on the air, with the network citing business and scheduling conflicts. The cancelation surprised longtime fans of the show because it was the second most-watched comedy series on the network this season (behind only Modern Family), an even more impressive feat considering its notoriously difficult Friday night time slot.
The show’s fans were quick to accuse Disney-owned ABC of canceling the show for political reasons, as Last Man Standing was one of the only shows on broadcast television to explore the family life of a blue-collar Republican; episodes from the first few seasons would see Allen’s everyman character, Mike Baxter, criticize the Obama administration and politically correct culture.
Allen himself is also politically conservative; during a recent late-night appearance, the actor said he had attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration and that fellow conservatives in Hollywood needed to be careful about talking politics for fear of reprisal.
During a press call Tuesday, ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey did not directly answer a question about whether the show was canceled for political reasons.
“I canceled Last Man Standing for the same business and scheduling reasons I canceled The Real O’Neals, Dr. Ken, The Catch, American Crime,” Dungey said, according to Deadline. “It was challenging because it was a steady performer but when we made the decision not to continue with comedies on Friday that’s where it landed.”
That explanation may not satisfy longtime fans of the show, who collectively took to social media this week to announce a boycott campaign against the network. Fans urged other networks and streaming services including CMT and Netflix to give the series a second life.
Representatives for ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum