ABC president claims Last Man Standing was cancelled over 'ratings' and Tim Allen's support of Donald Trump didn't play a role in the decision

  • The popular sitcom was cancelled earlier this month during its sixth season 
  • Fans accused the network of cutting the show over Allen's political stance
  • ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey said on Tuesday the move to cancel the show was solely about ratings 
  • The show ranked No. 48 in viewership among broadcast shows this season, with an average of 5.89 million viewers, the Nielsen Co. said
  • That's more viewers than some other ABC series that have been invited back, including Black-ish, Shark Tank and The Goldbergs

By Regina F. Graham For Dailymail.com

Published: 12:35 EST, 17 May 2017 | Updated: 16:15 EST, 17 May 2017

ABC is claiming that the cancellation of Last Man Standing had nothing to do with Tim Allen's (above) support of President Donald Trump

ABC is claiming that the cancellation of Last Man Standing had nothing to do with Tim Allen's (above) support of President Donald Trump

ABC is claiming that the cancellation of Last Man Standing had nothing to do with Tim Allen's support of President Donald Trump.

The popular sitcom was cancelled earlier this month during its sixth season, causing many fans to be outraged by the move as some accused the network of cutting the show over 63-year-old Allen's political stance.

But ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey said on Tuesday the move to cancel the show was solely about ratings.  

'A large part of these jobs are managing failure, and we have made the tough calls and canceled shows that we would otherwise love to stay on the air,' Dungey said. 

'That's the job. I canceled Last Man Standing for the same business and scheduling reasons that I canceled Dr. Ken, The Real O'Neals, The Catch and American Crime.

'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.'

The popular sitcom (above) was canceled earlier this month during its sixth season, causing many fans to be outraged by the move. some accused the network of cutting the show over 63-year-old Allen's political stance.

The popular sitcom (above) was canceled earlier this month during its sixth season, causing many fans to be outraged by the move. Some accused the network of cutting the show over 63-year-old Allen's political stance.

But ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said on Tuesday the move to cancel the show (above) was solely about ratings

But ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said on Tuesday the move to cancel the show (above) was solely about ratings

The show ranked No. 48 in viewership among broadcast shows this season, with an average of 5.89 million viewers, the Nielsen Co. said. 

That's more viewers than some other ABC series that have been invited back, including Black-ish, Shark Tank and The Goldbergs, which just scored a two-year renewal for a fifth and sixth season.

When it was announced that the sitcom would not return, Allen took to Twitter and said: 'Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years.'

On the show, Allen portrayed a senior executive and director of marketing for an outdoor sporting goods chain. 

When it was announced that the show would not return, Allen took to Twitter (above) and said: 'Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years.'

When it was announced that the show would not return, Allen took to Twitter (above) and said: 'Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years.'

The former Home Improvement star is one of the few outspoken Republicans in Hollywood and said that being a conservative in Hollywood is like living in the 1930s in Germany.  

On the show, Allen (above) portrayed a senior executive and director of marketing for an outdoor sporting goods chain

On the show, Allen (above) portrayed a senior executive and director of marketing for an outdoor sporting goods chain

'You've gotta be real careful around here,' he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. 

'You get beat up if you 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." I'm a comedian, I like going on both sides.'

A petition created on Change.org is calling for people to boycott ABC due to the show's cancellation. 

It has gained more than 232,000 signatures since being created.   

'Last Man Standing is one of the only shows on broadcast television, and the only sitcom, that is not constantly shoving liberal ideals down the throats of the viewers,' the petition reads. 

'And sadly, that is likely the real reason the show has been cancelled.'

Comments 227

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.