With the new Buzz Lightyear movie coming out without Tim Allen's involvement, some believe that Disney has parted ways with the star due to his politics. While this may or may not be true, one thing is certain... Tim Allen always bounces back. After all, the star went from potentially facing life in prison to becoming an outlandishly successful and wealthy man. Even though Tim Allen's past is a bit sketchy, he's found ways of cementing himself as one of the most successful sitcom stars of all time. While he just finished Last Man Standing, he will remain best known for his role as Tim 'The Tool Man' Taylor on Home Improvement.
Home Improvement was an outlandish success and could've launched the careers of all of its cast. Unfortunately, since it was canceled, the young stars of the show have either been caught up in scandal (such as Zachary Ty Bryan) or have become straight-up reclusive... ahem... ahem... Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Perhaps if the show continued for a few more years each of these stars would've become more successful. But this wasn't the case. After eight seasons, the extremely popular ABC sitcom was canceled. Here's the real reason why...
The Actors Had Enough
Yes, you can blame the cancelation of Home Improvement on the cast themselves. According to Looper, both Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson wanted out. But for different reasons. Of course, this was after Jonathan Taylor Thomas decided to quit Home Improvement during the final season and didn't even bother to return for the series finale. But Jonathan can't be blamed for the cancelation of Home Improvement. Although Tim Allen was confused as to why Jonathan left.
According to E!, Jonathan left Home Improvement because he wanted to study and then make some movies and not be stuck with the same character for even more years to come. Jonathan also hated the fame that Home Improvement brought him. He wanted to remain anonymous while doing something he loved. But all the attention made him feel uncomfortable and therefore he wanted a more normal life by going back to school. Of course, he also made a few movies after Home Improvement but never achieved the level of success that he easily could've had.
"I mentioned that I was confused [about the reasons for his departure]," Tim Allen said to E! "I don't think he liked that."
Because of not receiving the support that he thought he deserved, it's believed that Jonathan refused to return of the series finale. But it wasn't just Tim Allen who wasn't thrilled about Jonathan jumping ship before the series was over.
"It's a pretty sore point around here," Patricia Richardson, who played Jonathan's on-screen mom, explained to TV Guide in 1998 when the finale was about to air. "...I don't think it's a good idea that he didn't show up, but I don't always think he gets the best advice."
Regardless of Jonathan abandoning the series, the network believed that the show had legs without the middle son, Randy. So they offered a whopping $75 million to keep the show's two main stars. Of course, being the 1990s, Tim Allen was offered $50 million to do another season while Patricia was offered around $25 million. While that's nothing to sneeze at, that's a notable wage difference.
Still, Patricia thought the money was good but didn't want to keep doing the show. In an interview with The Closer Weekly in 2018, Patricia revealed the real reason she decided to quit Home Improvement.
"The reason I turned down the ninth year of Home Improvement” — and $[25] million! — was because I was a single [divorced] parent and away from my kids too much. I left the show, and I have put my children first since then. That’s why I’ve kept quitting the business: to be with them."
Because of his on-screen wife quitting, Tim Allen refused to do a ninth season of the show. While he could do the show without one of his on-screen sons, he couldn't do it without Patricia. Given that the show was averaging around 20 million viewers per episode in its later seasons, it's no wonder ABC offered so much money to keep the show going. But the actors just weren't having it.
Tim And Patricia Were In It Together
Even though Tim Allen could've kept the show going his allegiance to Patricia outweighed his love of the show. According to Closer Weekly, the two were extremely close while filming.
"Tim and I were always cracking each other up," Patricia said to Closer Weekly. "We came up with so much of what you saw on the set every day. Then there was the time that Tim was throwing potatoes around at the male crew members and hit a female camerawoman in the face, so that became kind of a joke."
Years later, Tim and Patricia remain close. She even popped by on Last Man Standing a couple of times. Even Jonathan Taylor Thomas did a brief cameo on Last Man Standing. But it was ultimately the bond that Tim and Patricia shared that brought Home Improvement to an end. They knew the show only worked if both of them were in it. To continue on with just Tim just didn't make any sense.
