Speaking with the casual nature of a man who apparently doesn’t realize the unstoppable and horrifying power he’s about to unleash on the world—and really, what could be more Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor than that?—Tim Allen has breathed the idea of a Home Improvement revival series into the universe. He even gave it a hypothetical title, Home Re-Improvement, and now that just exists, for people to think about and and then maybe even potentially make.
Allen made this fateful comment during a conversation with The Messenger, talking about the ongoing second season of his Disney+ series The Santa Clauses. Fielding an apparently inevitable question about the fate of Home Improvement in the 21st century. Allen ruefully chucked, suggesting that the series could very easily focus on the families of the Taylor family sons, since he still talks regularly to “the boys—in trouble and out of trouble.” (This, presumably a reference to Zachary Ty Bryant, who’s had a decidedly checkered life over the last few years). And of course he “sees Richard Karn a lot,” since the two still work together from time to time. (Patricia Richardson apparently doesn’t rate a mention.)
Allen previously brought the idea of bringing Home Improvement back in 2018, so this isn’t a flash-in-the-pan idea for him; he genuinely, apparently, believes that there’s more to be said about the story of a man who looks at lawnmowers and washing machine and believes they should be transformed into threats to both himself, and his family. (Meanwhile, if you want a more measured take on the Home Improvement legacy, take a look at this interview we did with Richardson back in 2019, which is a strong reminder that there was a dedicated core of talented people—including, for all our eyerolls in his direction, Allen himself—who really strove to make it a good family sitcom for its first few years on the air, before network pressures pushed it to be a much dumber version of itself.)
