''Home Improvement'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

television series starring

Tim 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 Gl ...

originally airing on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

from September 17, 1991 to May 25, 1999 with a total of 204 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series was created by

Carmen Finestra Carmen Finestra (born June 26, 1947) is an American producer and TV writer who currently is partnered with Matt Williams and David McFadzean in Wind Dancer Productions, a firm which Finestra also co-owns and co-founded with actor Tim Allen. For W ...

, David McFadzean, and Matt Williams, and was one of the most watched sitcoms in the United States during the 1990s, winning many awards and being ABC's number-one sitcom for most of its run. The series also launched stand-up comedian Allen's acting career, and grossed more than $500 million in syndication revenue by 1996.

Show background

Based on the stand-up comedy of

, ''Home Improvement'' made its debut on

on September 17, 1991, and was one of the highest-rated sitcoms for almost the entire decade. It went to No. 2 in the ratings during the 1993–1994 season, the same year Allen had the No. 1 book (''Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man'') and film (''

The Santa Clause ''The Santa Clause'' is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by John Pasquin and written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. The first instalment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordi ...

''). Beginning in season 2, ''Home Improvement'' began each episode with a

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...

, which features the show's logo during the teaser. From season 4 until the end of the series in 1999, an anthropomorphic version of the logo was used in different types of animation.

Episodes

Plot details and storylines

Taylor family

The series centers on the Taylor family, which consists of Tim (

), his wife Jill (

Patricia Richardson Patricia Castle Richardson (born February 23, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'', for which she was nominat ...

) and their three sons: Brad (

Zachery Ty Bryan Zachery Tyler Bryan (born October 9, 1981) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for his role as Brad Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement''. He also appeared in the films '' First Kid'' and '' The Fast and the Furiou ...

), Randy (

Jonathan Taylor Thomas Jonathan Taylor Thomas (; born September 8, 1981) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on ''Home Improvement'' and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 animated feature film ''The Lion King'' and Pinocchio ...

), and Mark ( Taran Noah Smith). The Taylors live in suburban

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and they have a neighbor named Wilson (

Earl Hindman Earl John Hindman (; October 20, 1942 – December 29, 2003) was an American actor, best known for his roles as Bob Reid on the television soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' from 1975—1984 and 1988–89, and as Wilson W. Wilson on the ...

''Tool Time''

Each episode includes Tim's own Binford-sponsored home improvement show, called ''Tool Time'', a

show-within-a-show A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometime ...

. In hosting this show, Tim is joined by his friend and mild-mannered co-host Al Borland (

Richard Karn Richard Karn (born Richard Karn Wilson; February 17, 1956) is an American actor, author and former game show host. He starred as Home Improvement (TV series)#Characters, Al Borland in the ABC series ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improveme ...

), and a "Tool Time girl"—first Lisa (

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress, model and media personality. She rose to prominence after being selected as the February 1990 ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month. She went on to make regular appearan ...

) and later Heidi (

Debbe Dunning Debra "Debbe" Dunning (born July 11, 1966) is an American actress, model, television host, spokesperson, and comedian. She is best known for playing Heidi on ''Home Improvement'' (1993–1999). Career Dunning played Heidi Keppert, the "''To ...

)—whose main duty is to introduce the pair at the beginning of the show with the line "Does everybody know what time it is?" In reply, the audience yells, "TOOL TIME!" The Tool Time girl also assists Tim and Al during the show by bringing them tools. ''Tool Time'' was conceived as a parody of the PBS home-improvement show ''

This Old House ''This Old House'' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a website. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television ...

''. Tim and Al are caricatures of the two principal cast members of ''This Old House'', host

Bob Vila Robert Joseph Vila (born June 20, 1946) is an American home improvement television show host known for ''This Old House'' (1979–1989), ''Bob Vila's Home Again'' (1990–2005), and ''Bob Vila'' (2005–2007). Early life and education Vila, a C ...

and master carpenter Norm Abram. Al has a beard and always wears plaid flannel shirts when taping an episode, reflecting Norm Abram's appearance on ''This Old House''. Bob Vila appeared as a guest star on several episodes of ''Home Improvement'', while Tim Allen and Pamela Anderson both appeared on Bob Vila's show ''Home Again''.

Characters

Main

Recurring

Production

The series ended after eight seasons in 1999. Richardson was offered $25 million to do a ninth season; Allen was offered $50 million. The two declined the offer and the series came to an end as a result.

Michigan college and university apparel

Throughout the show, Tim Taylor would often wear sweatshirts or T-shirts from various Michigan-based colleges and universities. These were usually sent by the schools to the show for him to wear during an episode. Because Allen considered Michigan his home state, the rule was that only Michigan schools would get the free advertising. There were two notable exceptions. During the episode "Workshop 'Til You Drop" Tim wears a Wofford College (South Carolina) sweatshirt. And in "The Wood, the Bad and the Hungry" he is seen wearing an Owens Community College (Ohio) sweatshirt.

Syndication

In the United States, ''Home Improvement'' began airing in broadcast syndication in September 1995, distributed via

Buena Vista Television Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Atlantic County, is part of South Jersey and the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Phil ...

(now

Disney–ABC Domestic Television Disney–ABC Domestic Television (also referred to as ABC Syndication, doing business as Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, and formerly named Buena Vista Television) is the in-home sales and content distribution firm o ...

) and continued to be syndicated until 2007, in a manner similar to ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' and ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' after they began airing in broadcast syndication. Episodes of ''Home Improvement'' were not aired in order of their production code number or original airdate. On cable, the series started airing in 2002 on superstations TBS and

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that operated from November 9, 1978 to February 28, 2021. The service was originally uplinked to satellite by United Video Inc. as a national feed of Chicago independent station WGN-T ...

. It later ran on

Nick at Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite since 2009) is an American nighttime programming block on Nickelodeon. List of programs broadcast by Nick at Nite, The block's programming broadcasts from prime time to Late-night television, late night, with ...

, and its sister network

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...

, and eventually the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

in 2013. The show's creators brought a lawsuit against Disney in 2013 alleging that the latter sold the syndication rights for the show at "well below market value" including offering the syndication rights in New York for "no monetary compensation". The lawsuit was settled in 2019. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Home media

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Atlantic County, is part of South Jersey and the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Ph ...

has released all eight seasons on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in Regions 1, 2, and 4. Season 8 has the "Backstage Pass" (which immediately followed "The Long and Winding Road, Part III") On May 10, 2011, Walt Disney Studios released a complete series box set entitled ''Home Improvement: 20th Anniversary Complete Collection'' on DVD in Region 1. The 25-disc collection features all 204 episodes of the series as well as all special features contained on the previously released season sets; it is encased in special collectible packaging, a ''Home Improvement'' toolbox with a Binford "All-In-One Tool" tape measure. The series became available on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on February 1, 2025.

Awards and nominations

Post-series events

Casey Sander Clinton O. "Casey" Sander (born July 6, 1955 or 1956) is an American actor known as the character "Captain" Jimmy Wennick on the short-lived TV series '' Tucker''. His television credits also include ''Criminal Minds'', ''The Golden Girls'', '' ...

and

had a reunion in a television special named ''Tim Allen Presents: A User's Guide to Home Improvement'' in 2003 (a terminally ill

did voice-overs, befitting his never-seen persona of Wilson; Hindman died shortly after the special aired). Allen presented his own favorite clips from the show, insider's tips, personal reflections and a question and answer session with the live audience. On August 3, 2011, in

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of downtown Los Angeles. Throughout January 2025, the majority of Pacific Palisades was severely affec ...

, the surviving main cast members reunited for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' magazine, including

, whom the cast had not seen since 1998. Karn guest starred in two episodes of Tim Allen's 2010s ABC/

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

sitcom '' Last Man Standing'' in 2013. Thomas has also appeared on ''Last Man Standing'', and has directed episodes of the series. In 2015,

guest starred on ''Last Man Standing'' in the episode "Helen Potts", playing the episode's titular character. Thomas made a cameo in the episode, playing Richardson's son. On May 5, 2015, ''Hollywood Life'' reported that Allen and Karn had admitted talking about getting back together as a cast for a ''Home Improvement'' reboot or reunion show. Karn was quoted as saying, "There is always a chance, absolutely. Would I be on board? Yeah, I think so! I would love to see what the story lines could be, it could be very funny!" On February 18, 2020, ''CinemaBlend'' reported that Allen wants to bring back ''Home Improvement'' for a revival:

I like the idea of doing it as a one-off, like a one-hour movie ersus a full-fledged revival series I like the idea of finding out where the boys are now, and where... ''Tool Time'' would be in today's world. I just think it's a marvelous idea, and all the actors think it's a great idea.

In January 2021, Allen reprised his role of Tim Taylor in an episode of '' Last Man Standing'' titled "Dual Time". Premiering in February 2021, Tim Allen and Richard Karn, teamed up with YouTuber DIYer April Wilkerson, on History Channel unscripted competition show ''Assembly Required''; where home handymen/makers/DIYers/inventors, compete to build souped up home tools a la ''Tool Time'' from ''Home Improvement'', with supplied parts and pieces, and some of their own junk at home. Premiering in June 2022, Allen and Karn again teamed up with Wilkerson on another History Channel documentary series ''More Power''; where the hosts cover the history of tools, again a la ''Tool Time'' from ''Home Improvement''. In a 2024 podcast interview, Richardson debunked Allen's claims of a reunion and denied interest in one. She cited Earl Hindman's death, Zachery Ty Bryan's legal issues, and the retirement of both Taran Noah Smith and Jonathan Taylor Thomas from acting as further reasons.

References

External links

Official homepage
* *
The ''Home Improvement'' Archive

{{Portal bar, Television, United States, Comedy, 1990s, Michigan Home Improvement (TV series) 1991 American television series debuts 1999 American television series endings American English-language television shows Television shows adapted into video games Television series about families Television series about television Television series by ABC Studios Television shows set in Michigan Television shows set in Detroit American Broadcasting Company sitcoms 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms