It's that renewal/cancellation time of year again when the networks make the decisions about which shows are done and which will live on for another season. Fox just axed The Gifted (although there is hope), but the network has good news for another show: after a season of killer ratings, Last Man Standing has been renewed for Season 8.
Fans who waited and hoped for more than a year that Last Man Standing would get a second life after being somewhat controversially axed at ABC after Season 6 don't have worry that another cancellation is already on the horizon. The Tim Allen series debuted on Fox back in September 2018, and it's been going strong ever since, with only the occasional slip in the ratings to place it behind the competition.
Fox hasn't confirmed how many episodes will make up Season 8, but considering the lengths of Seasons 3-7 and the fact that Last Man Standing was a major Friday night hit, it's probably a safe bet that it will score another order for 22 episodes. The good news of the renewal comes down from Fox only one day before the milestone 150th episode hits the airwaves.
In Season 7 to date on Fox, Last Man Standing averages more than 11 million viewers on multiple platforms, placing it as the top scripted program on Friday nights. Yes, that means Last Man Standing is on top of all scripted fare, not just comedies. On average, it has 29% on CBS' long-running cop procedural Blue Bloods.
If that's not enough, Last Man Standing represents a huge bump for Fox from the same time slot last year. The show gave Fox a 50% boost in the key 18-49 age demographic in the 8 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. ET time slot from this time last year, and a 112% bump in total viewers.
Throw in the fact that the show's Fox premiere was the most-watched Friday regular comedy telecast in 15 years on any network, and it must have been a no-brainer for Fox to renew Last Man Standing. Fans will have something extra to celebrate along with the 150th episode milestone on April 19.
The 150th episode is called "Yass Queen" and will see Mike trying to help Mandy launch her clothing line by bringing her into a business meeting, which will involve an aggressive sales rep played by Melissa Peterman. Elsewhere, Ed enlists Kyle to transcribe his life story. Oh, the hijinks that will inevitably ensue! How about some more Toy Story jokes?
It should be interesting to see how Last Man Standing Season 8 will compare to Season 7. The seventh season marked the first time that returning cast members played their roles in more than a year, and some original cast members didn't return at all, leading to recasts that weren't always received well right off the bat. What has been confirmed about Season 8 at this point is that Last Man Standing will change time slots to accommodate the WWE.
Tune in to Fox on Friday, April 19 at 8 p.m. ET for the milestone 150th episode of Last Man Standing. Fox is celebrating the milestone by streaming the original Last Man Standing pilot for 12 hours on Twitter starting at 9 a.m. PT.
