Politics played no role in ‘Last Man Standing’ cancellation

Tim Allen’s politics had “absolutely nothing to do with” canceling his popular comedy series “Last Man Standing,” ABC Entertainment chief Channing Dungey insisted this morning at TCA.

“Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years,” Allen tweeted in May, after his multi-cam comedy was pulled after six season. His suggestion his conservative politics played into the decision took off when go picked up by conservative radio and TV news commentators, in the absence of another credible explanation from the network. The surprise pull was a head scratcher, given that the blue-collar sitcom was ABC’s second most watched comedy in its most recent season, with 8.1 million viewers in Live +7, only behind flagship “Modern Family” (8.7 million).

“Politics had absolutely nothing to do with it,” Dungey told TV critics, insisting their schedule is populated with actors who have “different points of view” politically. Allen was a “valuable member” of the ABC Family. Dungey’s explanation for the cancellation is that “Last Man Standing” “came up to the end” of its pact and the network “unfortunately was not able to create room for it” on the schedule, which she called “disappointing.”

“His personal politics had nothing to do with it,” she reiterated.