‘He Was Lying to People’

Tim Allen lied about there being a chance of a Home Improvement revival being on the cards, according to his costar Patricia Richardson. Despite Allen having suggested that new episodes of the popular sitcom could happen, it seems that his enthusiasm is not matched by everyone.

The idea of revisiting popular shows of the 1990s is currently one of the big trends for studios right now, especially those that could help pad out the content of the likes of Disney+ and Netflix. Recently, Allen revived his festive movie series The Santa Clause as a new Disney+ series, and while doing press for the series, he hinted several times that another of his older projects set to get the revival treatment would be Home Improvement.

However, speaking on the Back to the Best podcast recently, Richardson told a very different story to Allen, and practically ruled out the idea of a new series ever happening. When asked about whether she would consider a comeback to the series, she candidly remarked:

“No. In fact, I think [that’s] the reason that Tim is now going on to do another show, which is the same plot as [Jungle 2 Jungle] and many of the movies that he’s done where he’s lost his kid, and he has to get his kid back. Yada, yada…. But I noticed this time, he doesn’t have a wife. He’s divorced.

“I would hear on [social media] that he was coming out publicly and saying this stuff about how everyone was on board to do a Home Improvement reunion, but he never asked me, and he never asked Jonathan [Taylor Thomas]. I called Jonathan one day and I said, ‘Has he asked you about this?’ And he went, ‘No. Why is he going around telling everyone that we’re on board when he hasn’t talked to you or me?’ I think that’s weird. He was lying to people and telling them that I was on board and I didn’t know anything about it.”

Home Improvement Doesn’t Seem Likely to Get a Revival Series

Home Improvement, which originally aired from 1991 to 1999, revolved around the Taylor family, with Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor at the helm, played by Allen. The sitcom became a huge hit, and although there have frequently been rumors of the show returning, mostly instigated by Allen’s comments, it seems that he would have a hard time convincing his costars to return with him. Richardson added:

“I would not want to [do a revival]. I mean, Zach [Ty Bryan, who played oldest son Brad] is now a felon… Taran [Noah Smith, who played youngest son Mark] hasn’t acted since he left the show… Jonathan is not really interested in acting… and we don’t have Wilson. So if we did it without [the late] Earl [Hindman], and also we have just two kids — probably, if that — it’s not going to be the [same] show at all.”

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Taking all of this into account, it does seem like the idea of the show being able to return is further away than ever, regardless of how enthusiastically Allen has pitched the idea in the past. Recently, the show has come under scrutiny for claims that Allen acted inappropriately on set, which were revealed in Pamela Anderson’s memoir last year. In the end, nothing is certain until it is certain though, so there is always a small possibility that we will see a new iteration of Home Improvement in some form, but as Richardson alluded to, it would not be the same show.