Last Man Standing season 7: Molly Ephraim leaving; Mandy being recast for season 7

While much of the main cast is officially set to return for Last Man Standing season 7, there is some news here to report that will be rather-sad for many people — Molly Ephraim, who played Mandy Baxter throughout the first six seasons of the series, is officially leaving and will not return. This news was first reported by TVLine, who also notes that the part is set to be recast.

Previously, there were reports that Ephraim could recur over the course of season 7, but clearly producers have opted to go in a different direction. Clearly, this is a series that wants to continue to use this character in a substantial way, and they’re set now to find another person who can properly play the part. (The future of Kaitlyn Dever remains to be seen.)

This would not be the first recasting that the Tim Allen series has done, as we’ve seen already this happen with the character of Kristin Baxter. Amanda Fuller has taken on that role since the second season of the show. The site also notes that Flynn Morrison will not return as Boyd and that character will also be recast; yet, we’re a little less surprised about that just because of the fact that recastings are fairly common with young actors.

Ultimately, what this news is a reminder of more so than anything else is simply that with a show like Last Man Standing, revivals are harder than they seem on the surface. There was a lot of enthusiasm around bringing the series back for another season, but the problem that comes along with that is mostly that you’re having to find a way to re-sign actors to new deals who have been off of it for a good year now. Many of them have moved on to do some other things or may just want something else at this point. Often, bringing shows back from the dead is harder than it seems at first.

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