Tim Allen says 'Last Man Standing' pulled back on Trump jokes because 'it's not funny anymore to us'
In its first few seasons, Tim Allen’s sitcom Last Man Standing regularly entered the political fray, with Allen’s central character siding with conservatives and the likes of President Donald Trump. The show was canceled in 2017 and brought back on Fox in 2018, but with less talk about government.
Allen explained to USA Today that there’s a simple reason that happened: Jokes about Trump were “so easy and everybody was doing it on talk shows, so we’ve just kind of left it alone because it’s not funny anymore to us.” The main couple has “just moved on.”
The new episodes of Last Man Standing, which returns for its eighth season on Thursday, will instead tackle the way government affects the family of Allen’s character, Mike Baxter, and his business, Outdoor Man.
“Even for those of us who are political, that’s not much of our day,” Allen said. “Most of our day is getting along and working, our families, (our) kids and the things at their school.”
However, there are upcoming storylines that show the political leanings of the lead character, whom Allen has described as “like Archie Bunker with a college education.” Allen teased that writers are working on one about guns, which Baxter sells in his business.
“This is a sporting-goods store and an outdoors store, so there are weapons involved and weapons for hunters,” he said. “These guys have been selling guns. How do they feel about that?”
The Toy Story actor said other political philosophies will play a part, too.
“We’re going to talk about what it is to be a good businessman. Your workers are your family. And then he sounds like Bernie Sanders,” Allen said. “I was reading the vlog [script] and I go, ‘Good God, I think Bernie Sanders said this yesterday.’”
Allen, who attended Trump’s inauguration, once compared Hollywood to 1930s Germany for people who aren’t politically liberal. He’s described himself as “kind of an anarchist” for “responsible government that actually does what we pay them to do.”
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