One of the most talked-about TV cancellations of the 2016-2017 TV season was Last Man Standing, which got the axe from ABC after six seasons on the air. The cancellation came as a shock to fans, and many petitioned and campaigned for the show to get picked up at another network in the next season. When a 2017-2018 revival didn't happen, that seemed to be the end of the story for Last Man Standing... until Fox announced last month that Last Man Standing had been picked up for the 2018-2019 season with Tim Allen and key members of the cast on board. Now, there are two key cast members who have not signed on, and fans may not want to expect as much of them as on the original run of the series.
Molly Ephraim and Kaitlyn Dever are the two key members of the Last Man Standing cast who are not attached to the Fox revival as regulars. Ephraim and Dever play sisters Mandy and Eve Baxter, respectively. The two characters have played significant parts in the series to date, and it comes as something of a surprise that they're not nailed down as regulars for Fox. After all, Amanda Fuller is on board full-time as Kristin Baxter, so it would have stood to reason that the actresses playing the other two Baxter daughters would be back in the same capacity. According to TVLine, both Molly Ephraim and Kaitlyn Dever are in talks to return as recurring actors.
There is one actor who may not be back at all, although he doesn't play the biggest role in Last Man Standing. Flynn Morrison played Kristin's son Boyd starting in the second season. There are reportedly no deals to bring him back to Last Man Standing, recurring or otherwise. Assuming the move to Fox doesn't mean erasing Boyd's existence, we can probably safely bet that the role will be recast with another young actor. Last Man Standing could get away with recasting Boyd easily enough, whereas the show almost certainly couldn't pull off recasting any of the Baxter daughters if either Molly Ephraim or Kaitlyn Dever are unwilling or unable to make the jump to Fox.
Only time will tell what kind of deals will be worked out to bring the younger two Baxter girls back to television. Molly Ephraim and Kaitlyn Dever are the last two major cast members to have deals to be worked out, and negotiations to bring Hector Elizondo back to the show as a regular have officially closed. He'll be on board full-time as Mike's business partner Ed yet again.
Also reprising their roles are Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, Nancy Travis as Vanessa, Amanda Fuller as Kristin, Jonathan Adams as Chuck, Christoph Sanders as Kyle, and Jordan Masterson as Ryan. Showrunner Kevin Abbott signed on as well. The new Last Man Standing will air on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. For some viewing options while we wait for fall TV season to start, check out our summer TV premiere guide.
