[7] The series follows Mike Baxter, a senior executive and director of marketing for the Outdoor Man sporting goods store chain based in Denver, Colorado.

[15][16] On February 18, Tim Allen, who had been attached to the potential series from the beginning, officially joined the project in the lead role.

[17][18][19] At the end of March, Nancy Travis joined the cast in the leading female role as Allen's "smart and loving wife who doesn't miss much".

Both Last Man Standing and Malibu Country aired as a part of ABC's Friday night lineup for the 2012–2013 primetime television season.

[31] On November 8, 2012, Abbott re-joined the Last Man Standing crew full-time, after a stint in rehab, and gave Nastaran Dibai full showrunning duties of Malibu Country.

[42] Allen and Elizondo guest-starred as their Last Man Standing characters in a crossover episode with the fellow ABC Friday sitcom Cristela.

Leading off Friday night for ABC, the sitcom averaged a 1.8 rating in adults 18–49 and 8.2 million viewers overall, according to Nielsen's Live+7 estimates.

[50] In a conference call with reporters earlier in May, ABC president Channing Dungey stated, "Last Man Standing was a challenging one for me, because it was a steady performer.

Dungey cited studio ownership, future creative direction, ratings, and viewer engagement as all factors in her decision.

"[54] Variety also confirmed in an exclusive report that 20th Century Fox Television would shop the series to other networks and streaming services in hopes it would be picked up for a seventh season;[55] another home was not quickly found, however.

[57] The same day, TVLine reported that Fox was "poised to" resurrect Last Man Standing for the 2018–19 TV season, adding that Tim Allen is "officially on board".

[58] Deadline Hollywood reported that Fox was in talks for another season, but it was "by no means a sure thing", suggesting it would depend on whether the actors could be re-signed "at reasonable salaries".

"[63] On July 2, Fox announced that, in addition to Allen, series regulars Nancy Travis, Amanda Fuller, Hector Elizondo, Christoph Sanders, Jordan Masterson and Jonathan Adams had all signed on to appear in the season 7 revival.

The same site's critical consensus for the season reads, "Last Man Standing is a thoroughly middling sitcom relying on jokes that feel alternately dated or hostile.

[88] Los Angeles Times: "The jokes and plots have been efficiently constructed, but most have no traction; they slide right off you, and the characters themselves seem disconnected from one another.

"[89] Entertainment Weekly offered a slightly more favorable review of the show: "When I look at the now-rounded softness of Tim Allen, and note once again how his sandpaper voice contrasts winningly with his hopeful eyes, it's impossible to plunge a shiv into this series.

[91] Entertainment Weekly commented: "I think it's time the folks involved with Last take a closer look at All in the Family, in which the prejudice was built around real jokes.

Club's Emily VanDerWerff wrote: "The problem with Last Man Standing's attempts to go political is exemplified by the first scene of the season première, which remains one of the most uncomfortable scenes of television I've ever watched... doing its best to push buttons in the audience that don't need to be pushed, as if it thinks what made [Norman] Lear's sitcoms a success was the yelling or the mentions of social issues that people sometimes argued about.

"[93] Philly.com wrote about season three: "The unlikely comeback vehicle for Tim Allen, Last Man Standing on ABC, is a thoroughly traditional, absolutely charming sitcom.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Last Man Standing isn't the most realistic sitcom on the dial, but its idealistic representation of opposites living in harmony offers sorely needed hope during divided times.

That was 9% better than the 3.2 adults 18–49 rating for the series premiere of No Ordinary Family in the same time-slot the previous year (which was two weeks earlier in the season).

[98] Ratings for the eighth season on Fox declined after the series moved to Thursday nights, competing with Young Sheldon (CBS) and Superstore (NBC).

[5] Last Man Standing was nominated for a 2012 People's Choice Award for "Favorite New TV Comedy", but lost to CBS's 2 Broke Girls.