The Ultimate ‘90s TV Dad Just Threw His Onscreen Sons Under The Bus

By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 23 seconds ago

For better or for worse, we are living in the golden age of TV revivals. Some of the most beloved shows from the ‘90s just keep coming back, often to the delight of older fans. Frasierfor example, brought Kelsey Grammar back for a new show; it streamed on Paramount+, which also hosted the Star Trek: The Next Generation reboot, Picard. Beloved children’s sitcom Full House was brought back as Fuller Houseand even the pioneering gay sitcom Will & Grace was rebooted for the enjoyment of a newer, more progressive generation. Amid all these revivals, some of us have been asking the same question for years: where the heck is Home Improvement?

Home Improvement was one of the most popular television series for almost the entirety of the ‘90s. With that kind of popularity, a reboot or revival seemed inevitable, and leading man Tim Allen has frequently discussed how much he’d love to make one happen. Recently, he was asked during an interview if there were any updates, and he offered a surprising response. He claimed that it would only make sense for a revival to focus on his onscreen sons, but “there are some personality problems right now with the boys.” This seems to mostly be an allusion to Zachery Ty Bryan, who is currently serving one of multiple scheduled stints in jail!

The Greatest TV Dad Is Back (Well, He Wants To Be)

Recently, Tim Allen gave an interview to Us Weekly, where he was asked about the status of a possible Home Improvement revival. “They keep talking about how it could move forward, but they get stuck [because] there are some personality problems right now with the boys,” he said. “They’ve got their own issues. I always thought it would be cool if it was a story about them. That’s a little challenging right now, to put it mildly.” It’s a good idea, really, one which worked for another ‘90s sitcom revival. When Fuller House came back, all of its primary dramas revolved around the grown-up versions of the child characters from Full House.

So, what does Allen mean when he says “the boys” have “personality problems?” In Home Improvementhis character had three sons, played by Zachery Ty Bryan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and Taran Noah Smith. Of these former child stars, Smith has stopped acting altogether; in fact, the last thing he did was voicework for a 1999 episode of Batman Beyond. Meanwhile, former teen heartthrob Jonathan Taylor Thomas is still interested in making art, but he prefers to write and direct these days. Because of that, it would be difficult to get either of them to come back for a Home Improvement revival.

Child Star Breaks Bad

The one who presents the biggest issue, though, is Zachery Ty Bryan. In 2020, he was arrested for allegedly strangling his girlfriend. He has also been repeatedly arrested for domestic violence and is currently spending 16 months in a California prison for a felony DUI violation. Once he gets out, he will then serve a 19-month prison sentence in Oregon for probation violations connected to one of those domestic violence arrests. Overall, his story is a sad one for all of us who enjoyed watching him on Home Improvement back in the ’90s. But Tim Allen isn’t wrong: it’s hard to star in a TV show when you can’t stay out of jail!

Once upon a time, Tim Allen was the ultimate TV dad, and he’s in a pretty tough position now. He knows that Home Improvement is still popular; audiences love the conceit of that show so much that he was able to create two successful spiritual sequels (Last Man Standing and Shifting Gears). Now, he has the perfect idea to bring Home Improvement back, but it just can’t happen because producers would have to recast all of his onscreen children. As much as I empathize with Allen, though, it’s surreally funny to see him throw all of those actors under the bus and blame them for his revival never getting a green light.

Undeniably funny, weirdly jerky behavior that makes you cringe and laugh at the same time? This felt less like watching a major Hollywood star and more like watching his onscreen alter ego. We may never get more Home Improvementbut thanks to Allen’s interviews, one thing is clear: Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor never left!