The Last Man Standing will kick off 2020 with a brand new season. Fox has confirmed the premiere date for the Last Man Standing Season 8 and it will be having a new time slot as well.
The network dropped the announcement in a promo clip during the World Series. The eighth installment of Tim Allen's sitcom will officially premiere on January 2, 2020. Aside from the confirmation that it will skip a fall or winter 2019 premiere, the series will also have a new timeslot.
The series will be taking the Thursday night timeslot that once held by The Big Bang Theory. The Chuck Lorre's sitcom wrapped up in May after a 12-year run.
Many LMS fans are surprised by the new timeslot and midseason premiere. The Last Man Standing previously belongs to the Friday programming.
CinemaBlend explained that that charges on LMS airing could be due to the full weekend lineup of Fox this fall. The network, currently, has deals with NFL for the Thursday night football and the WWE for Smackdown Live. Since October 4, WWE's Smackdown Live occupies Fox's Friday night schedule.
Back in May, Allen teased about the decision of Fox to move LMS to Thursday. However, he did not mention anything about the January 2020 premiere.
Despite the long wait, fans of LMS are thrilled that their favorite sitcom will return right after the New Year. Some of its followers previously expressed concern that LMS might get canceled after the show's experience with ABC.
Last Man Standing aired for six years on ABC before it got axed amidst high viewership ratings. A year later, Fox picked up the sitcom for a seventh season.
Since the big move, there have been changes in the show. Most notable was the recastings for Mandy and Boyd Baxter. Molly McCook currently plays the role of Mandy Baxter which was portrayed by Molly Ephraim from Seasons 1 to 6. Jet Jurgensmeyer, on the other hand, now plays Mike (Tim Allen) and Vanessa Baxter's (Nancy Travis) grandson, Boyd.
If fans are missing the old Mandy and Boyd, they will also be missing Bud Baxter, Mike's widower father. Actor Robert Forster, who played the character, passed away recently at age 78 due to brain cancer. Forster guest-starred on 10 episodes of LMS. His last appearance was in 2018.
Meanwhile, the promo teaser of LMS Season 8 did not offer much information about the upcoming installment other than Mike is teased to be making some changes in his life. The Last Man Standing Season 8 will also have a full 22-episode season.
