We are still heartbroken about ABC’s recent announcement of the various shows that are ending this year, mainly Last Man Standing (2011-17), which has been cancelled after its six-season run. I was hopeful that the show might at least tie with Tim Allen’s original sitcom, Home Improvement (1991-99), which ran for eight seasons.

It’s always sad too when a show ends unexpectedly. If a series is going strong and the cast and creators know plot wise that the story and show must come to an end, it feels more gradual, and easier to come to terms with a show going off the air. Six seasons is by no means a lackluster success; after all, many shows don’t even make it past their first season; however, with this show it just feels unexpected. Last Man Standing is one of those shows that ended with a good season, but it just didn’t end like a series would normally when it goes out with a bang, where everyone knows, “this is it.” Ratings just must not have been where they needed to be; it would’ve been nice to get a heads up though and end with a strong seventh season. Of course, maybe they did get a warning, but steamed ahead as if everything was fine and the show wasn’t about to conclude. The sixth season was good a one, just not quite the bookend of the show we would have liked.

While maybe not quite to the pedestal of Home Improvement (for which this show surely owes much of its existence), Last Man Standing had a feel of simpler times, despite its present-day setting. Although it a sometimes highly conservative show, there remained something in it for everyone. It hearkened back to that flavor of Tim Allen humor as a father, yet felt like its own thing. It paid tribute to the ‘90s show with nostalgia, but in a subtle way. The cast really did feel like a family with their camaraderie, not just together on screen but as a family to the audience too. It was one of the few shows on television that I actually enjoyed watching, especially since I am originally from Colorado, the state where the show takes place.

We’ll miss you, Last Man Standing. You were one of the last few wholesome family television shows left that gave us laughs, heart, and something to think about after every episode.

Thank you cast, for a great show: Tim Allen, Nancy Travis, Molly Ephraim, Kaitlyn Dever, Hector Elizondo, Christoph Sanders, Amanda Fuller, Flynn Morrison, Jordan Masterson, Alexandra Krosney, Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and all the rest of the Last Man Standing family.