LAST MAN STANDING Producers Reflect on the End of an Era

LAST MAN STANDING Producers Reflect on the End of an Era

By Movieguide® Staff

Note: This article contains spoilers for the series finale of LAST MAN STANDING.

After 194 episodes, a cancelation and two networks, the beloved sitcom starring Tim Allen reached the end of Season 9.

The final two episodes, titled “Baxter Boot Camp” and “Keep On Truckin,” bookended the Baxter family’s treasured moments and finalized the end of the journey with a farewell to Mike Baxter’s 1956 Ford F-100.

“I adored this show, this cast, this crew,” Allen said. “I never had a bad day on the set, and it isn’t old hat… Of course, all of the actors are still alive and well and we can see each other whenever we want, but I have not fully recovered from how much I adored that world that we created.”

Initially, executive producers Kevin Abbott and Matt Berry struggled with how to end the show. At first, their endings involved certain characters leaving, but they eventually landed on the idea of Baxter’s truck getting stolen.

“I loved it, because it allowed us to tell a story that we would just tell but still leave room for the characters to be able to comment on the show closing, so that it wouldn’t be too sad,” Abbott said.

The truck is stolen just as Baxter completes the vehicle’s restoration—a project that spanned from the show’s beginning to end.

“It was perfect and there was nothing left for him to do, and then at that point somebody takes it,” Berry said. “At first it’s like we got to get it back. But then the word comes through it’s gone. It’s been disassembled, chop shop, it doesn’t exist and then they have to go through the process of what that means. And while you watch Mike thinking he’s going to fall apart once this word comes through, it’s actually kind of interesting that Vanessa [Nancy Travis] does. She winds up having this reaction to that as Mike has peace with it, because of how much it meant to her as well.”

Allen, who is an outspoken conservative, reflected on the decision to include his truck in the final episodes.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about makers and takers because I had something very valuable taken from me. Somebody took my truck. Ten years of attention to detail. Poof! Gone,” Allen said.

He added: “I loved every moment of that show – I mean truck. It was a classic from a simpler, happier time, you know, the truck. And that’s something that can’t be stolen from me.”

Berry and Abbot offered a list of their favorite episodes from LAST MAN STANDING, which you can view at Variety.com.

LAST MAN STANDING was nominated for several Movieguide® Awards throughout its run due to the show often containing faith content.