Tim Allen likens 'Last Man Standing' finale to 'Home Improvement': 'Twice as humbled'
Tim Allen never anticipated that he'd be able to unofficially carry on the Home Improvement legacy, but now that he has done nine seasons of the similarly modeled Last Man Standing, the 67-year-old actor is doubly appreciative and reflective.
Fox's Last Man Standing, in which Allen plays gruff patriarch Mike Baxter, will air its series finale May 20. Entertainment Weekly caught up with Allen for an interview published Thursday (April 29), including first-look photos of the last two episodes ("Baxter Boot Camp," "Keep on Truckin'"), and the Golden Globe winner likened saying goodbye to how he left Home Improvement in 1999:
"I sat in every room on that set, but I did that on Home Improvement also. I'm just one of those guys," he recalls. "Earl Hindman (who played faceless neighbor Wilson) and I would go backstage and we'd say, 'I'm always going to love this.' I still remember where that was all these years later. I honored it. I was grateful for it. And I'm humbled that I had the chance to do Home Improvement, and now twice as humbled to have done Last Man Standing for two years longer. I went from being a club road comic to achieving all of this. I really love this family, even with the cast changes we had throughout the series. The growth of this family was amazing." Last time in my “Baxter” den. pic.twitter.com/HNEfofhV3y
Where Home Improvement followed Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor (Allen) navigating home life with his wife and three sons when not hosting a TV show, Last Man Standing found Allen's Mike Baxter raising three daughters alongside his wife and running his Outdoor Man chain or vlogging.
Last Man Standing originally aired on ABC for seven seasons (2011-17) before declining to renew. Fox stepped in for the final three installments (2018-21).
"I was speaking to my friend Buzz Aldrin recently and when we spoke about this milestone he told me, 'Mission accomplished,'" Allen added. "And that's it. We were ready to finish the show around Season 7 but we got to do 8, which matched Home Improvement, but then we got 9. We finished our mission and I'm much better today than I was a week ago and I'll be better next week."
Allen isn't totally saying goodbye, either. He and Richard Karn, who played Al on Home Improvement, reunited for the unscripted History Channel competition series Assembly Required earlier this year—30 years post-Home Improvement's debut.
Last Man Standing will air its remaining episodes Thursdays beginning at 9 p.m. EST on Fox.
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