It's hard to claim that Tim Allen can't catch a break. After all, the man is one of the most successful sitcom actors around. Not to mention, he's had a string of hit movies and was the voice of Disney's Buzz Lightyear for an entire generation. While his recasting for the animated movie may be Disney's way of canceling the colorado-born actor due to his politics, the man is still very much successful.

He's made a ton of money and even snagged a few major roles away from Jim Carrey. And that's saying something, since he spent two years in prison, during his 20s.

Related: Home Improvement Reruns Might Have Boosted Tim Allen's Net Worth More Than He Expected

That said, a couple of Tim's projects have been plagued with problems. This includes his otherwise successful sitcom, Last Man Standing. Even though the show earned incredibly high ratings, it suffered two cancelations and a high turnover rate for more than five of the main cast members. Here's the real reason why so many of the actors quit the show.

Updated on July 5, 2023: The hit TV sitcom Last Man Standing aired its last episode on May 20, 2021. The following year, star of the show Tim Allen went on to reprise two of his biggest roles to date; first as Buzz Lightyear in the video game, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and then as Scott Calvin/Santa Claus in The Santa Clauses TV spinoff.

Multiple Actors Got New Jobs And Refused To Return For The Fox Revival

Nine seasons is a heck of a long time for any television show, especially a network sitcom. After all, sitcoms don't tend to last. But Tim Allen's Last Man Standing went the distance. The series followed Tim Allen's Mike Baxter, an executive at an outdoor sporting goods store, and centered on his relationship with his wife, daughters, grandson, and the men in his family's life.

Jack Burditt created the series, starting on the ABC network in 2011 but later moved to Fox where it ended its nine-year run in 2021.

Related: The Is The Real Reason Why Tim Allen's 'Home Improvement' Was Canceled

Even though Last Man Standing had extremely strong ratings during its first six seasons on ABC (and even went into syndication in its 4th year), ABC decided to cancel it. Word on the street is that the network thought the show was too conservative, though the network debunked the theory, explaining that they were moving away from most shows not owned by the network itself.

Either way, Last Man Standing had some serious fans. Some even went as far as petitioning ABC to renew the series.

Tim Allen live
Via instar

While ABC wasn't interested in continuing with the show, Fox decided to take a chance and renewed it for a couple of additional seasons. This process wasn't easy, however, as it caused numerous actors to have to go in and renegotiate their contracts. Moreover, many of them were already moving on to other projects. Even though main cast members Nancy Travis, Hector Elizondo, Christopher Sanders, Jonathan Adams, Jordan Masterson, and Amanda Fuller all decided to stick with Tim for the Fox reboot, Molly Ephraim decided not to come back as Mandy. Therefore, her character ended up getting recast. Molly McCook took over the role - much to the chagrin of some fans.

A similar thing happened to Erika Alexander's Carol Larabee, who was replaced by Tisha Campbell. While Erika's recurring role was a favorite among fans, as reported by Deadline, she just couldn't find the time to return to Last Man Standing after it was initially canceled.

Then there was Kaitlyn Dever (Eve Baxter) who is arguably the show's biggest breakout star. Due to her signing up to play the lead in the Netflix miniseries Unbelievable, she couldn't commit to playing a series regular. But, unlike some of her younger co-stars, Kaitlyn returned periodically in a recurring role until the final season in 2021. The writers of Last Man Standing were able to have their cake and eat it too by sending Eve to the Air Force Academy. This way, Kaitlyn could come in and out as her schedule allowed.

Kaitlyn Dever
via Instar

These Actors Were Recast For Creative Reasons, Or Simply Wanted To Quit

While the network switch contributed to some cast members leaving or being replaced, it doesn't account for all of them. Specifically, Alexandra Krosney (who played Kristin Baxter). After only one season on the show, Alexandra left citing creative differences, according to Distractify. Even though she was playing the eldest of the Baxter daughters, she was actually younger than Molly Ephraim's Mandy. So, when she was replaced by the older Amanda Fuller, the dynamic between the girls shifted drastically. This seems to be the reason why the network wanted Alexandra out, but we don't know for sure. We do know, however, that many fans are still angry about Kristin getting recast.

Much like when Molly McCook took over the role of Mandy from Molly Ephraim (after she started a new chapter in her life when ABC initially canceled the series), fans were furious with the Kristin Baxter recasting. Both Molly (and especially Amanda) took a lot of flack on social media for no fault of their own. They were simply asked to step into the shoes of an existing character that fans had already come to know and love.

Molly Ephraim
via Instar

Of course, the character of Boyd Baxter has been replaced the most, which makes sense. After all, the character started the series as just a little boy. In total, four different actors played the character over the years, with Flynn Morrison being the most prolific. However, after five years of playing Tim Allen's grandson, the network decided not to renew Flynn's contract for the seventh season. Just like at the beginning of season two, the network wanted to age up the character and therefore had to recast him.

Finally, you can't mention Last Man Standing without talking about Nick Jonas ... yes, THAT Nick Jonas. For just one episode in the first season, the Disney Channel icon played Ryan Vogelson. The character was brought back in the second season, played by Jordan Masterson, who ultimately starred in the series until the end. But, for a short time, Nick could've been the guy to bring the character to life long-term. However, Nick took the role when he was just coming off the Disney Channel and trying to branch out. Soon after, his star power grew, he joined "American Idol," and could no longer fit the show into his schedule. Nevertheless, Last Man Standing has gone on to make a massive impact in the sitcom world.

In light of all the shake-ups over the years, the show's title became almost prophetic: Tim Allen truly was the Last Man Standing.