Tim Allen isn't grunting for laughs about the May cancellation of his ABC sitcom "Last Man Standing." He's talking about his frustration with ABC's decision — and why he thinks politics played a role in it.
This week on the "Norm MacDonald Live" podcast, the TV and film star from metro Detroit expressed his disappointment with how the network handled the axing of his family-friendly comedy.
"I have no idea why they did what they did," Allen said, noting that "Last Man Standing" earned solid ratings and performed well on Friday nights.
But he seems to have a guess. His remarks about the politics of the situation have stirred a flurry of media coverage.
“There is nothing more dangerous to me, especially in this climate, than a funny, likable conservative,” Allen told Macdonald near the 34 minute point of the conversation.
Allen described how he wanted the sitcom and his character, conservative husband and father Mike Baxter, to be like "All in the Family" and Archie Bunker in terms of using comedy to "push boundaries."
Allen said of his "Last Man Standing character: "... (Mike Baxter) was a likable guy and a principled guy, just about work and ethics and all this stuff. I think there’s nothing more dangerous right now than a likable conservative character.”
Back in May, Allen addressed the cancellation on Twitter by tweeting, "Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years.#lastmanstanding"
At that time, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey told reporters that the cancellation had nothing to do with Allen's pro-Trump sentiments.
"'Last Man Standing' was a challenging one for me because it was a steady performer in the ratings, but once we made the decision not to continue with comedies on Fridays, that was where we landed," said Dungey
In March, the outspoken Allen also made headlines when he discussed attending President Donald Trump's inauguration on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
Allen told Kimmel, "You get beat up if don’t believe what everybody believes. This is like ’30s Germany. I don’t know what happened. If you’re not part of the group, ‘You know what we believe is right,’ I go, ‘Well, I might have a problem with that.'”
