Here’s how much Tim Allen and his Home Improvement co-star Patricia Richardson turned down to make a ninth season. Tim Allen had been offered sitcoms based around hit movies like Turner And Hooch before signing on for Home Improvement, which based on his stand-up act. The show – which was almost called Hammer Time – centered around Allen’s Tim Taylor, host of a home improvement series called Tool Time. The sitcom mostly revolved around Tim’s family life, where his overconfidence could often create drama, especially with spouse Jill (Patricia Richardson).
Home Improvement boasted a great supporting cast too and was an early breakthrough for Pamela Anderson, who played Lisa during the first two seasons. Home Improvement debuted in 1991 and went on to become one of the biggest sitcoms of the ’90s and also launched Allen to movie stardom, thanks to appearances in The Santa Clause and Toy Story. At the show’s peak, it was pulling in ratings of over 30 million viewers, and while those numbers dipped towards the end of Home Improvement’s run, it was still a comfortable hit with viewers.
Home Improvement came to a close in 1999 after eight seasons, with the TV special “Backstage Pass” being the official final episode; it also revealed the face of the Taylors’ neighbor Wilson. In the 2002 Biography Channel special Home Improvement – A Half Hour of Power, it was made clear the cast were becoming a little “bored” with the show towards the end, with Richardson admitting the series had pretty much run through every possible storyline. Nevertheless, the network very much wanted another series of Home Improvement and offered the leads a big payday if they committed. Tim Allen turned $50 million for Home Improvement season 9, while Patricia Richardson rejected $25 million.
Richardson later elaborated to ET in 2020 that she was ready to move on, despite pressure from both ABC and Allen to stay. It was only when the network proposed killing off Jill as a way to make Home Improvement season 9 happen that Allen also decided it was time to end the sitcom. While it appears Tim Allen – whose Home Improvement role was mentioned in Toy Story – was tempted by the huge payday the network offered, Richardson felt she had made more than enough money on Home Improvement and didn’t want to continue for cynical reasons.
While talk of a Home Improvement reboot surfaces occasionally, it has yet to occur. Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor did make an appearance on Allen’s sitcom Last Man Standing, where he bonded with Mike – who both acknowledge their uncanny resemblance to one another. Given his success following the end of the show, it’s doubtful Tim Allen regrets passing on Home Improvement season 9 now.
