The ninth and final season of the sitcom “Last Man Standing” is set to premiere on Sunday, and when star Tim Allen learned that the show was coming to an end, it was a bittersweet moment. While Allen was proud that the show lasted so long, he was also sad to be saying goodbye to his beloved character of Mike Baxter.

Allen, 67, told Fox News that it was “horrible” going to set every day knowing that it was one day closer to the final day of production.

“I thought it would be a good idea,” Allen said. “It was a terrible idea!”

“I feel like because we show up to work going ahhhhh (“crying”) I can’t…” joked his co-star and onscreen wife Nancy Travis, who added fans can look forward to more of the same from the show.

“Just the everyday things that you ponder and wonder about…. the girls are grown now and they come in and out of our lives and we have grandchildren,” the actress said of the plot.

One of the best parts of the upcoming season is that Allen got to reprise his iconic character of Tim Taylor from “Home Improvement,” which was on from 1991-1999.

“It was really confusing for me to play Tim Taylor, who, I think of Mike Baxter is an evolution of that character. He’s smarter, went to college,” Allen said. “We don’t know whether Tim Taylor was really stupid or really smart. I mean, I played the guy I wasn’t sure.”

“Last Man Standing” premiered on ABC in 2011, and was cancelled after six seasons before being picked up by Fox for seasons seven, eight, and nine. Allen released a statement after it was announced that the show would be ending making it clear that he had no issue with the decision.

“I’ve been one lucky dude to have been part of Last Man Standing,” said Allen, who also served as executive producer of the popular show. “I so appreciate the incredible support from our fans over this near decade of work. As we approach the ninth season, I just admire and feel grateful for all the hard work our wonderful cast and crew have done.”

“We had all considered to end the show after last season, but together with Fox, we decided to add a year so we could produce a full season to create the gentle and fun goodbye,” he added. “I’m looking forward to a memorable and hilarious final season.”