A popular recurring character from the original Last Man Standing on ABC will be making a return on the Fox revival with a twist. My Wife and Kids and Martin alumna Tisha Campbell has been tapped to recur on the Fox series as Chuck Larabee’s (Jonathan Adams) wife Carol Larabee.
The role was played by Erika Alexander during LMS‘ run on ABC. It has been recast with sitcom pro Campbell as Alexander was not available due to scheduling issues. Alexander currently recurs on two series, the CW drama Black Lightning, which films in Atlanta, and HBO comedy Insecure, which shoots in Los Angeles.
Created by Jack Burditt, Last Man Standing stars Tim Allen as Mike Baxter, a happily married father of three daughters, who finds himself the odd man out as he tries to maintain his manliness in a home dominated by women.
Carol, the wife of Mike’s neighbor and co-worker Chuck, was introduced in the second season ofLast Man Standing and became best friend to Mike’s wife Vanessa (Nancy Travis). In Season 6, LMS‘ last on ABC, Carol accepted a year-long job in California, leaving Chuck behind in Denver.
In addition to Allen, Travis and Adams, the series stars Amanda Fuller as Mike and Vanessa’s oldest daughter, Kristin; Molly McCook as their free-spirited second daughter, Mandy; Christoph Sanders as Mike’s charmingly naïve co-worker and Mandy’s husband, Kyle Anderson; Jordan Masterson as Kristin’s husband, Ryan Vogelson; Jet Jurgensmeyer as Kristin and Ryan’s young son, Boyd; and Hector Elizondo as owner of Outdoor Man, Ed Alzate.
Mandy also was recast as Molly Ephraim, who played the role on the original series, opted not to return for the Fox revival.
The Last Man Standing follow-up has been a ratings success for Fox, regularly ranking No. 1 on Fridays in the key 18-49 demo. It is the network’s most-watched entertainment series in Live+Same Day.
Last Man Standing is produced by 20th Century Fox Television. Kevin Abbott, Matt Berry, Kevin Hench, Ed Yeagher, Allen, Marty Adelstein, Shawn Levy, Becky Clements, Richard Baker and Rick Messina are executive producers. Abbott also serves as showrunner.
Campbell is best known for her starring roles on two long-running multi-camera comedy series, My Wife and Kids opposite Damon Wayans and Martin opposite Martin Lawrence, earning multiple NAACP Image Awards for her work on the shows, which are syndicated globally. She has been recurring on Fox drama Empire and was recently seen in indie Blindspotting opposite Daveed Diggs. Campbell is repped by Tracy Christian at TCA.
Source: Deadline
