Last Man Standing Twist: Final Season Will Kick Off With Time Jump

Ryan Schwartz
·2 min read
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Mike Baxter will be plotting his second act when Last Man Standing kicks off its ninth and final season.

Fox on Tuesday teased new details about the long-running family comedy’s farewell run, including a brief time jump and a big decision for Outdoor Man’s director of marketing. The official logline reads as follows:

After the events of the eighth season finale, during which Kristin (Amanda Fuller) went into labor with her baby daughter, while Mandy (Molly McCook) was pregnant with her first child, the series will jump ahead into the near future, when Mike and his wife, Vanessa (Nancy Travis), will contemplate their own future, including Mike’s imminent retirement from his lifelong job at Outdoor Man – and who could be his successor.

Last Man‘s eighth season was cut one episode short due to Hollywood’s industry-wide shutdown at the height of the coronavirus pandemic last spring. At the time, showrunner Kevin Abbott told TVLine that the plan was to use the script originally intended for Episode 22 and have that serve as the Season 9 premiere. Suffice it to say, plans have changed.

Fox previously confirmed Last Man Standing‘s final season in October. “I’ve been one lucky dude to have been part of Last Man Standing,” series star and executive producer Tim Allen said in a statement. “I so appreciate the incredible support from our fans over this near decade of work. As we approach the ninth season, I just admire and feel grateful for all the hard work our wonderful cast and crew have done. We had all considered to end the show after last season, but together with Fox, we decided to add a year so we could produce a full season to create the gentle and fun goodbye. I’m looking forward to a memorable and hilarious final season.”

Last Man Standing Season 9 premieres on a special night, Sunday, Jan. 3 at 8:30/7:30c, before moving to its regular day and time — Thursdays at 9:30 pm — beginning Jan. 7. What are your hopes for its remaining 21 episodes?

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