Actor Tim Allen is being called out for allegedly lying about an upcoming sitcom project, and his accuser is none other than his co-star from ABC’s long-running sitcom, Home Improvement.
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As early as 2021, actor Tim Allen began sharing his thoughts about reviving his previous alter ego, Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, from his days as the star of the Disney- and ABC-owned sitcom Home Improvement.
“I just think it’s a marvelous idea,” Allen said at the time. “All the actors [from the cast] think it’s a great idea.”
“No,” Richardson responded when asked if she’d be interested in a possible comeback as Jill Taylor on the Back to the Best podcast.
“In fact, I think [that’s] the reason that Tim is now going on to do another show,” Richardson said, referring to the ABC sitcom pilot Shifting Gears, “which is the same plot as Jungle Cruise 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 Twitter (or whatever) that he was coming out publicly and saying this stuff about how ‘everyone’ was on board to do a Home Improvement reunion,” she said. “But he never asked me, and he never asked Jonathan [Taylor Thomas, who played middle child Randy in the 1990s sitcom].”
Richardson said she reached out to actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas about Allen’s comments regarding a reunion show, but according to the Emmy-nominated actress, Thomas wasn’t asked about doing a new show either.
“[Allen] was lying to people and telling them that I was on board, and I didn’t know anything about it,” she said.
“I would not want to,” Richardson re-emphasized. “I mean, Zach [Ty Bryan, who played oldest son Brad] is now a felon. Taran [Noah Smith, who played the 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 . . . it’s not going to be the [same] show at all.”
Home Improvement debuted in September 1991 and ran for eight seasons and 204 episodes on ABC, concluding in May 1999. It was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, including a nom for Outstanding Lead Actor (Tim Allen), four noms for Outstanding Lead Actress (Patricia Richardson), and two nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.
Allen was asked by TVLine about a potential Home Improvement reboot, he had a well-thought-out answer.
“I always think about it because I still talk to everybody involved,” Allen explained. “The question I have is, ‘Is it still relevant? Is Tim Taylor relevant in the Mike Baxter (from Last Man Standing) world?’ Because Mike Baxter is like a real version of Tim Taylor. He’s not such a joke. And the [Outdoor Man] vlogs are like Mike’s version of Tool Time done as a web series.”
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When asked about how he’d like to see such a reboot if it were to come to fruition, Allen had apparently put a lot of thought into the idea.
“I like the idea of doing it as a one-off, like a one-hour movie [versus a full-fledged revival series],” Allen said. “I like the idea of finding out where the boys are now and where Tool Time would be in today’s world.”
So, at least for now, a Home Improvement reboot isn’t on the books anywhere, and whether such a reunion takes place in the future is anyone’s guess.
You can watch the interview with Patricia Richardson below: