Even though Home Improvement ended its eight-season run 21 years ago, its fanbase has only grown over time, with many hoping for a proper reunion one day. That day hasn't yet come, but get ready to be excited all the same. Tim Allen and Richard Karn are getting together again for a new unscripted series that will probably come as close as we'll ever get to seeing an actual "Tool Time" TV show.
Tim Allen and Richard Karn will share the screen anew for the newly announced History competition series tentatively titled Assembly Required. Both actors will serve as executive producers for the project, for which Allen will serve as an on-screen star, while Karn will be taking on hosting duties. So viewers will almost definitely get to see them sharing the screen together and bouncing jokes off of each other.
Assembly Required is a show that will spotlight ingenuity and will focus on contestants with can-do attitudes and a keen interesting in building things. Episodes will feature some of the most talented builders across the country as they're tasked with taking broken household items and finding ingenious ways to not only fix them, but to rebuild them in ways that make them even more useful. Here's hoping that Allen is more helpful during the builds than Tim Taylor was on Home Improvement; otherwise, the History series' insurance premiums are likely to skyrocket.
The new series will also bring an educational element to the table (saw). Tim Allen and Richard Karn will be taking a look back at the unique histories of the household items at the center of each episode's competition, highlighting interesting details and spotlighting the men and women behind their inventions. Viewers can probably also expect to see a lot of well-known name brands on display, as History's advertising team will be working with production company Wheelhouse Entertainment in order to secure partnerships with companies that seek to be displayed on the new show.
Here's what Tim Allen had to say about the news:
Let’s face it -- we’re living in a throwaway society. We buy, break, replace… rinse and repeat. Whatever happened to repair and rebuild? There are some people who unfriend, unfollow and dispose of anything that offends, annoys or breaks – so I’ve created a show to remind people of the satisfaction and pride that comes from rebuilding something on their own. And who better to join me than my buddy from the old Tool Time days – Richard Karn! Now we’re talking More Power! Albert Einstein once said, ‘I’m not a genius, I’m just passionately curious.’ Well, let’s get curious! Even a chimpanzee would at least show interest, right? Wait – I think I just came up with another idea for the show! R-R-R!
This won't be the first time that Tim Allen and former Family Feud host Richard Karn have reunited in the years following Home Improvement's run. Karn showed up on Allen's popular sitcom Last Man Standing for two episodes back in Season 2. Get a reminder of that below.
For what it's worth, Tim Allen has brought up his own ideas for how Home Improvement could come back to fans. In his mind, it would be more of a one-off special, as opposed to a whole new season of episodes. Perhaps if Assembly Required is a success, the world will be one step closer to seeing the Taylor family returning to the small screen.
Assembly Required currently doesn't have a premiere date set on History, and it's not quite clear when the show will go into production. But stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates as they become available, and in the meantime, head to our Fall 2020 TV schedule to see what new and returning shows are on the way, such as Last Man Standing's ninth season.
