'Last Man Standing' cancellation: Fans skeptical of ABC's' 'excuse' for axing show

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Tim Allen 'blindsided' by 'Last Man Standing' cancellation

Fox411: Tim Allen speaks out after ABC cancelled his sitcom 'Last Man Standing'

ABC is sticking to its story.

The network reiterated its decision to cancel the highly-successful sitcom "Last Man Standing" had nothing to do with politics.

"Politics had absolutely nothing to do with it," ABC president of Entertainment Channing Dungey told reporters at the Television Critics Press Association press tour in Beverly Hills, California, per The Wrap. "'Last Man Standing' was a show that, several years running, kind of came up to the very end in terms of the renewal, which was the same case this year."

However, based on ratings alone, it seems the network killed one of its highest-rated shows to take a gamble on new shows like "Inhumans" which has already been trashed by critics and viewers after the trailer was released.

ABC urged people to give the show a chance when it debuts September 29 saying at Sunday's TCA panel that viewers have seen so far is "not the finished product."

According to Deadline, the sixth and final season of "Last Man Standing" was ABC's second most-watched comedy with 8.1 million views, behind only the seemingly untouchable “Modern Family,” which scored 8.7 million in the same year. It was also ABC's third highest watched scripted series behind "Grey’s Anatomy" and "Modern Family."

The show's star Tim Allen tweeted at the time, "Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years."

Many fans scoffed at ABC's "scheduling decision" answer calling it a "weak excuse."

At the time the show's cancellation was announced, a petition, which garnered nearly half-a-million signatures, called out ABC for cancelling the show due to its conservative values.

Allen, a conservative himself who has voiced his support for President Trump, plays Mike Baxter who is also politically conservative on the show. "Last Man Standing" has been praised for being one of the few shows that appeal to a conservative viewership.

The network has been criticized in the past for several shows that mock traditional values such as "The Real O'Neals" which made fun of Irish Catholics and "When We Rise" which was slammed for portraying middle America as homophobic.