Why Patricia Richardson left Home Improvement, per her TV son

Taran Noah Smith, who played youngest son Mark, says Richardson got tired of fighting the writers to keep Jill Taylor realistic, and that pay was part of it too.

Jill Taylor didn’t walk away from “Home Improvement” on a whim.

Taran Noah Smith, who played Mark Taylor, the youngest of the three Taylor boys, says Patricia Richardson spent years pushing back on the show’s writing, and that pay was part of why she didn’t come back for a ninth season. Good Morning America reported Monday, Sept. 28, on the comments from a resurfaced episode of the “Outgrown” podcast.

“She fought throughout the whole show to keep the show more realistic and tell the writers, ‘a mother would never say this’ and get them to change it,” Smith said.

Why did Patricia Richardson leave Home Improvement?

Two reasons, according to Smith: she was worn out from fighting over the scripts, and she wasn’t paid anywhere near what Tim Allen was.

“That’s one of the reasons why the show ended up eventually ending,” Smith said. “She was as tired of it and of having to fight to make it realistic all the time.”

On money, he didn’t soften it. “Tim was getting far more money than she was,” Smith said.

He said Richardson’s way out was a condition she knew wouldn’t be met. As Smith told it, she said she’d do a ninth season if she got paid the same as Allen, “knowing they wouldn’t do it.”

ABC News reached out to Richardson’s representative for comment, per GMA.

What did Patricia Richardson push back on?

Lines that she felt no real mom would say.

Richardson “had just given birth to twins, and she had one older kid who was about my age,” Smith remembered. “And she really brought a lot more of a realistic mom [energy].”

Smith said things changed after the first few seasons. “The original creators only did the first couple of seasons and then they moved on and they brought in a whole other group of writers/producers,” he said. “And those guys, very few of them had kids and the show started to go in a different direction.”

So Richardson kept pushing when a line seemed out of character or existed just to set up a joke. “It was really Pat, the mom, who fought the good fight to make it more realistic,” Smith said.

Did Tim Allen back her up?

Not really, by Smith’s account, though he didn’t describe it as a fight between them.

“Tim was always I think more hands off with that, not wanting to be tyrannical which meant that it was a lot more on Pat to push,” Smith said.

How long did Home Improvement run?

Eight seasons on ABC, from 1991 to 1999.

Tim Allen starred as Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, host of the fictional show “Tool Time,” with Richardson as his wife, Jill. Zachery Ty Bryan played oldest son Brad, Jonathan Taylor Thomas played middle son Randy and Smith played Mark. Richard Karn played Al Borland, Tim’s flannel-wearing co-host.

The sitcom was one of the biggest shows on TV in the ‘90s, and it was made by Disney’s own TV studio, Touchstone Television. That makes this one a family story in more ways than one. Disney owns ABC, ABC News and Good Morning America, too.

Are the Home Improvement cast members still close?

Some of them, yes.

In July, Richardson posted a photo on Instagram with Smith and Thomas, her two former TV sons, per GMA. Her caption: “My other boys.”

Allen and Karn have also kept working together over the years, and they’ve teamed up again for a competition series, per GMA.

What did Patricia Richardson do after Home Improvement?

She kept working. Richardson went on to star in the Lifetime medical drama “Strong Medicine” and had a recurring role on “The West Wing.”

Playing Jill also earned her multiple Emmy nominations.

Does this change how you watch Home Improvement?

It might. Rewatch the show with Smith’s comments in mind and you may notice something new: every time Jill says something that sounds like an actual parent, there’s a decent chance she fought for that line.

Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Hat Tips:

• Good Morning America (Sept. 28, 2026), Taran Noah Smith’s comments, the Instagram reunion and the Allen-Karn series

• “Outgrown” podcast, the original interview, via GMA

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