Tim Allen Returning To Home Improvement? Cast Brings Up Revival

By Chris Snellgrove | Published

tim allen

Younger audiences may not remember it, but Tim Allen was an absolute staple for ‘90s sitcom fans thanks to the success of his show Home Improvement. The sitcom ran from 1991 to 1999 and effectively defined an entire decade, and now there may be a possibility the show earns an entirely new generation of fans. Deadline reports that Allen and some of the original cast have been kicking around the idea of a revival for the venerable sitcom.

The Cast Talks Revival

It’s worth stressing that these talks have not occurred with executives from ABC (the network the show originally aired on) or any streaming giants such as Netflix. Instead, Tim Allen mentioned in an interview that he still regularly stays in touch with members of the original cast such as Richard Karn (he played fan-favorite character Al Borland). He also mentioned speaking to “the boys” from the show (Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Zachery Ty Brian), and the topic of them all putting on a Home Improvement revival occasionally comes up.

The Series That Might Make It Possible

Even though Tim Allen and some of the core players seem game for returning to the characters that made them famous, what would a Home Improvement revival even look like? When Allen brought up the possibility of such a revival, it was clear that he and the cast were inspired by the success of Fuller House. That particular sitcom revival brought back most of the cast from the original ABC sitcom Full House with a unique twist: the younger characters from the original show such as Candace Cameron Bure’s D.J. Tanner are now the grown-ups having to deal with raising their own precocious children.

What Would A Revival Look Like?

Tim Allen and cast have toyed with the idea of a Home Improvement revival in that same mold: as Allen puts it, the show “would be about the kids’ kids,” and much of the humor would come from the fact that Allen’s cantankerous family man is now a grandparent. The way Allen describes it, this may not be their final pitch for a revival–he acknowledges that everyone thought it would be “weird.” Nonetheless, it’s an idea that has “come up” among them, and if the show ever happens, they already have a suggested title for it: “Home Re-Improvement or something like that.”

The Season Of Revivals

Time will tell if such a show ever gets the green light and if the final product is as appealing to modern audiences as the original was to ‘90s audiences. Tim Allen seems confident such a show would succeed, and he’s got a good reason: in addition to Fuller House, recent years have brought us many successful reboots of classic shows, including Picard (a revival of Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Raven’s Home (a revival of That’s So Raven). And if a Home Improvement revival could bring back most of the original cast, that would already make it an “improvement” on recent disappointing revivals such as Frasier.

Will New Generations Accept Home Improvement?

While Tim Allen didn’t mention any major networks or streamers expressing interest in a Home Improvement revival, we’re very hopeful that it will happen soon. Allen’s personality and politics often rub people the wrong way, but his original show was a smash hit for a reason, and its spiritual successor Last Man Standing managed to “last” even longer than Home Improvement. If Allen can bring Home Improvement back, we’re confident it will appeal to original fans and just as confident they will have trouble spelling out that weird sound Allen’s character loved to make.