Patricia Richardson candidly reveals the salary dispute with ABC over the gap between her and Tim Allen's salaries that led to Home Improvement ending after eight seasons.
Richardson stood firm in demanding equal pay to Allen and an executive producer credit, despite a lucrative offer.
Though acknowledging that she still holds Allen in generally high regard, she's previously confirmed she won't be returning for a Home Improvement revival after her co-star previously "lied" about one happening.
Actor Patricia Richardson candidly explains why Home Improvement really ended after eight seasons. Premiering in 1991, the sitcom starred Tim Allen as Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, a home improvement television show host. Richardson starred as Jill, his loving wife and mom to three mischievous boys, Brad, Randy, and Mark (Zachery Ty Bryan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Noah Smith). The show aired for eight seasons on ABC, earning 7 Primetime Emmy Awards, and a loyal audience following.
Now, in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Richardson explains why Home Improvement really ended after eight seasons. The Jill actor reveals why she was ready to leave the show, and how the pay gap between her and co-star Allen helped her make that decision. Check out her reasons for leaving Home Improvement below:
"I told everybody, 'There’s not enough money in the world to get me to do a ninth year.' This show is over. It needs to end."
But with just a couple of months left on the production, Richardson said, a surprise offer arrived: $1 million per episode for her and $2 million per episode for Allen to return for a 25-episode ninth season. Per Richardson, Allen jumped at the offer, but she held firm.
"All I really care about is having enough money to live on, get my kids to college and leave them some. I don’t need a plane. I don’t need a boat."
Richardson came up with a proposition she was sure would be rejected. If the network would pay her $2 million an episode and give her an executive producer credit — the same deal they’d reportedly offered Allen — she would stay.
"I knew that Disney would in no way pay me that much. That was my way to say 'no' and was a little bit of a flip-off to Disney. I’d been there all this time, and they never even paid me a third of what Tim was making, and I was working my ass off. I was a big reason why women were watching. I was mad at Tim because he was leaving me alone being the only person saying no, which made me feel terrible and like the bad guy, and he was upset with me for leaving."
Tim Allen & Patricia Richardson's Relationship History Explained
Previously, it was thought that a mutual decision between Allen and Richardson to end the show was the reason why Home Improvement concluded. However, this new revelation by Richardson actually reveals that the show could have continued if Disney had accepted her proposal to pay her the same salary as Allen, $2 million per episode, and gave her the executive producer credit that Allen had. However, Disney was not willing to pay her the same amount as Allen, which is not surprising to learn, considering gender pay gap is a problem that still plagues the entertainment industry to this day.
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How Much Tim Allen Turned Down For Home Improvement Season 9
Home Improvement was a ratings hit until the very end and here's how much Tim Allen and co-star Patricia Richardson rejected to make a ninth season.
It seemed the former Home Improvement co-stars were on good terms, up until recently. In 2015, Richardson made an appearance on Allen's sitcom, Last Man Standing, starring as Helen Potts in two episodes of the comedy series, which was littered with Home Improvement Easter Eggs. However, it appears the two now have a more complicated relationship, as in March 2024, she appeared on Back to the Best podcast, denying rumors of a potential revival, claiming that Allen was lying about the development of one.
According to Richardson, she was never spoken to about any revival of the sort Allen was speaking about publicly, and that Allen hadn't spoken to their former co-star, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, either, who confirmed Richardson's sentiments. It seems Richardson and Allen's relationship is now further complicated by her latest comments, as she admits to being "mad" at him for making her feel guilty about turning down the offer. The show won't be making a comeback any time soon, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Revivals normally tarnish a show's legacy, and Home Improvement can keep its good reputation in sitcom history, despite the complicated relationship between its co-stars.
Tim Allen stars as Tim "The Toolman" Taylor in Home Improvement. This sitcom follows the Taylor family and their neighbors as they navigate the everyday situations in life in Detroit, Michigan. The Taylor family, consisting of Tim, his wife Jill, and their three sons, are prone to comedic incidents due to their quirky traits. Each episode features a particular meta-joke segment emulating a tool-focused television program.
Patricia Richardson candidly reveals the salary dispute with ABC over the gap between her and Tim Allen
Allen
Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement (1991–1999) for which he won a Golden Globe Award and Mike Baxter on the ABC/Fox sitcom Last Man Standing (2011–2021).
's salaries that led to Home Improvement ending after eight seasons. Richardson stood firm in demanding equal pay to Allen and an executive producer credit, despite a lucrative offer.
Thomas remained with Home Improvement well into his teenage years but left the show in 1998 to focus on academics. In early 2004, Thomas had a small guest role on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, another ABC sitcom, and appeared in the WB's Smallville in 2002 and 2004.
Patricia Richardson says 'Home Improvement' was put to end after she demanded same pay as Tim Allen. 'I told everybody, there's not enough money in the world to get me to do a ninth year. This show is over.
But this series of events led to tension between her and her co-star. “I was mad at Tim because he was leaving me alone being the only person saying no, which made me feel terrible and like the bad guy,” she said, “and he was upset with me for leaving.”
The more notable strife on the “Home Improvement” set, Richardson said, came from the difficulties of having three young actors' parents jockeying for equal screen time and opportunities for their sons. Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson in a scene from Allen's ABC series “Last Man Standing.”
Thomas stayed with "Home Improvement" from its premiere in 1991 until 1998. He left early in the eighth and final season, with his character moving to Costa Rica in the second episode. In real life, Thomas wanted to focus on his education.
The heartthrob of his time, Jonathan Taylor Thomas played middle Taylor child Randy, leaving the series before its end to attend school. (To make it work on TV, his character moved to Costa Rica.) “I'd been going nonstop since I was 8 years old,” he told PEOPLE in 2013.
The reason Wilson hid his face on Home Improvement was because Tim Allen wanted to pay homage to a neighbor from his childhood whom he couldn't fully see over a fence. Wilson's mysterious appeal on Home Improvement came from the fact that his face was always obscured, adding to his popularity as a character.
Patricia Richardson, who starred as family matriarch Jill Taylor on the hit ABC sitcom Home Improvement, said she used the large pay gap between her and co-star Tim Allen to avoid continuing with the show.
In the first two years of the show, Pamela Anderson played the part of Tim's Tool Girl, Lisa, on Tool Time, but left the show to focus on her role on the syndicated series Baywatch. Her last episode as a series regular was "The Great Race", which aired on May 19, 1993.
Frances Fisher was originally set to play Jill, but producers decided to recast the role at the last minute after they decided that the actress, who typically starred in more dramatic fare, wasn't quite right for the part.
"This [show] is improv for 12 hours a day and I'm out of my mind. It's just like Al Borland and Tim Taylor." "Well, it's improv with editing," Karn explained. "Because more than half of the stuff we can't even use.
'Home Improvement' star Patricia Richardson. Just months before production on the eighth season was set to end, Richardson claimed that ABC offered her $1 million per episode and Allen $2 million per episode to get the pair to return for a 25-episode ninth season.
Occasionally Al messed up a project, although that was on account of honest miscalculation as opposed to Tim's attitude of "more power!" Despite this, Tim and Al are good friends offstage, and Al often helps out, either by helping with home projects, or by watching his children.
Wilson was portrayed by Earl Hindman across 202 Home Improvement episodes that aired between 1991 and 1999. The actor died of lung cancer in 2003, at 61. In the exclusive clip above, Mike asks Tim, "Who was Wilson?"
In 2023, Allen reportedly revealed in an interview with The Messenger that he'd been brainstorming a “Home Improvement” spinoff with co-star Richard Karn (Al Borland), as well as his TV sons Thomas (Randy Taylor), Zachery Ty Bryan (Brad Taylor) and Taran Noah Smith (Mark Taylor).
One of the key members of the Home Improvement cast was Taran Noah Smith, who played the youngest son, Mark. While Smith left acting behind after the show ended, he has found success in a surprising new career. He now works for Elon Musk after creating a vegan cheese.
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