What Happened on the Final Episode of ‘Home Improvement’ & Why Did the Show End?
A family comedy with a testosterone-filled twist, Home Improvement premiered on September 17th, 1991, dominating the ratings for much of its eight seasons and 204 total episodes. Though the show had a large cast, including Patricia Richardson and ’90s teen heartthrob Jonathan Taylor Thomas, its focus was always on stand-up comedian-turned actor Tim Allen, who stars in the new sitcom Shifting Gears, premiering tonight, Jan. 8 at 8pm EST on ABC. The prospect of seeing Allen on the small screen again might make you wonder — what happened in the final episode of Home Improvement? And why did it go off the air?
The Birth of Home Improvement
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Back in the nineties, inspired by the huge success of comedian-based sitcoms like The Cosby Show, networks were winning big by launching new comedies based around popular stand-up comedians (that Jerry Seinfeld guy’s show did pretty well, for example).
In the late ’80s, Tim Allen was a fast-rising stand-up star with a unique voice, creating comedy with stories about being a typical man in a world that doesn’t always understand them, grunting his way through jokes about marriage, power tools, and life in general. His humor was unique, relatable, and mainly family-friendly — all of the ingredients needed to create a hit primetime sitcom. ABC took notice, and before long, Home Improvement was born.
Allen played Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, host of local fix-it show Tool Time (alongside long-suffering cohost Al Borland, played by Richard Karn). Tim’s stubborn, primitive need to fix things by hand (often infusing them with “more power”) consistently created catastrophes — not only at work, but at home as well, much to the chagrin of his amazingly patient wife, Jill (Patricia Richardson), their three sons, and even their neighbor Wilson (Earl Hindman), whom we only ever get to see from the nose up, usually peering over his fence.
Home Improvement was a monster hit, scoring huge with audiences of all age groups — so why did they close up shop after eight seasons?
Why Did Home Improvement Get Cancelled?
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While Home Improvement was created as a vehicle for Tim Allen, the presence of Patricia Richardson immediately paid dividends. Richardson’s sharp comedic timing and toughness gave the character of Jill the ability to go toe-to-toe with her caveman-like husband, in a sassy way that TV viewers hadn’t seen since Louise Jefferson or Alice Kramden. The yin to his yang, Tim and Jill were a truly equal partnership, loving each other while keeping each other in check, and audiences quickly grew to enjoy and value them both.
When the show’s eighth season rolled around, Richardson was looking for a way out. She was recently divorced, and wanted to spend more time with her children. Richardson told the Los Angeles Times in a 2024 interview that she and Allen agreed that the show had run its course, and that with breakout star Thomas leaving the series, the time was right to end it. “I told everybody, there’s not enough money in the world to get me to do a ninth year. This show is over. It needs to end,” she told the Times.
The network lured Allen back with an eye-popping offer of $2 million per episode. Richardson was offered $1 million an episode, but still had no interest in continuing the show, so she made a counteroffer that she was confident would be rejected: $2 million per episode and a producer credit, just like Allen.
“I knew that [show producers] Disney would in no way pay me that much. That was my way to say ‘no’ and was a little bit of a flip-off to Disney,” Richardson recalled. “I’d been there all this time, and they never even paid me a third of what Tim was making, and I was working my ass off. I was a big reason why women were watching.”
Allen and the producers realized that there could be no Home Improvement without Jill, and made the tough decision to end the show.
With time to plan a proper send-off for one of the network’s biggest hits ever, how did the show finally power down for good?
What Happened in the Last Episode?
Home Improvement’s series finale features the culmination of several major storylines. Tim and Al shoot the final episode of Tool Time — the duo resigned after corporate execs demanded changes to the show. Going out with a typical Tool Time bang, the series finale-within-a-series finale features a variety of past guests (including NASCAR star Mario Andretti) performing a cover of the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House” — a perfect backdrop for Tim to ignite one last on-stage fire.
The remainder of the episode focuses on Al’s wedding to Trudy, which takes places in the Taylor’s backyard, with Wilson finally crossing the fence to serve as the officiant. A heartwarming conclusion to Al’s story, this event also serves as the backdrop for Tim and Jill’s crossroad — a job opportunity for Jill that would require the family to move to Indiana. Simultaneously, a surge in ratings for Tool Time‘s finale has led to a last-minute offer for Tim to stay on the show with full creative control and a hefty raise. Though previous episodes had shown him as resistant to moving, Tim realizes the need to allow his wife to find her own success story and agrees to move. However, Jill changes her mind and pushes for the Taylors to stay in their home.
The episode’s ending leaves the Taylors’ future inconclusive but offers a wonderful assurance that their love is stronger than ever — and that some things never change, as Tim hilariously fantasizes about moving the entire Taylor house to Indiana via tugboat. More power, indeed!
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December 2020
Who was your favorite TV family? We cover the decades, from the Cleavers, Waltons and Brady Bunch, to the Ewings and much more!
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