Last Man Standing season 7 premiere review: Did it live up to expectations?

It goes without saying that fans of Last Man Standing were beyond upset when the show was canceled, but with a huge push from them and networks reviving every show under the sun Last Man Standing is back for a 7th season – although now it’s over on Fox. There have been a lot of high expectations for this premiere and with the notable cast change when it comes to Mandy Baxter there are some out there that are a bit worried. Molly Ephraim played the character beautifully for the first 6 seasons and her on screen chemistry with Kyle (played by Christoph Sanders) is off the charts. These two are fun, ridiculous and have such beautiful comedic timing with each other that we have a hard time seeing anyone else being able to replicate this feeling, but here we are and it’s time to see if Molly McCook can slide into this role.

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After watching the premiere episode, it does feel clear that if you like the first six seasons of the show, there’s a reasonably good chance that you also enjoyed this one. After all, this is largely the same show you remember, even though it’s a new network. This was a theme echoed throughout the premiere tonight as we saw many different meta-references to the cancellation and it being in a better place.

As for the story itself, we do think that it can be summarized in one word: Cooperation. After Boyd turned up missing (at least briefly), the Baxter family realized that there was no point in continuing to fight over petty little things like politics. Family is what matters more than anything else and everyone needed to take stock in that.

Also, we had some updates on the characters throughout the premiere. Mandy has a new look and doesn’t understand why people don’t immediately recognize it. Meanwhile, Eve is coming back with Air Force training under her belt and at least briefly, Kyle wanted to move his family back to his native Canada. Yet, at the end of the episode the Baxter family had him apply for Citizenship instead.

Related – Check out our preview for the next new episode of Last Man Standing

Cartermatt Verdict

We do think that Last Man Standing felt the need to chime in a little bit on politics for the premiere given that there have been plenty of headlines regarding Tim Allen’s political affiliation and also the state of the country as a whole. There were some funny lines in here, but we wonder if the show will move more away from politics as a whole moving forward. This episode still worked as a worthy reintroduction to the show and, in the process, a chance to get some laughs.

What did you think of the premiere of Last Man Standing and are you happy that it’s back? Leave us a comment in the box below with your thoughts. Also, be sure to follow CarterMatt on Facebook to stay up to date with all of our Last Man Standing scoop! (Photo: Fox)