Tim Allen has made a career out of being a sitcom dad on Home Improvement and then Last Man Standing, and now he’s back for a third time with Shifting Gears, which premiered last week on the 2025 TV schedule. As Allen’s character Matt Parker navigates his relationship with estranged daughter Riley (Kat Dennings), it sounds like Allen is thinking about re-teaming with another of his TV children. The actor talked about Jonathan Taylor Thomas possibly appearing on Shifting Gears, and that’s one reunion I’d definitely be tuning in for.
Shifting Gears (available to stream with a Hulu subscription) premiered January 8 on ABC, but apparently Tim Allen wasn’t the only one who returned to the Home Improvement lot. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who played middle child Randy on the ‘90s sitcom, apparently paid a visit to set, so does that mean we’ll see JTT reunite with his TV dad? Allen told US Weekly:
Everything is a possibility. He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set. He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on Home Improvement.
It would be a pretty big deal if Jonathan Taylor Thomas were to appear on Shifting Gears. The former child actor ultimately left Hollywood behind after exiting early from Home Improvement’s final season and hasn’t done much acting since, outside of a few guest appearances on series including 8 Simple Rules, Smallville and Veronica Mars in the early aughts.
JTT did, however, notably reunite with Tim Allen for four episodes of Last Man Standing, and he even directed three, so it certainly seems like the two have remained in contact over the years. When saying that he “raised” Jonathan Taylor Thomas on set, Allen also referenced his other TV sons, Zachery Ty Bryan and Taran Noah Smith (who played Brad and Mark, respectively) and seemed to comment on Bryan’s legal issues when he said:
All of these are my kids and I’m kind of sick about this.
Zachary Ty Bryan has a history of assault allegations, with the most recent domestic violence arrest occurring January 2 of this year. He also has been arrested for driving under the influence five times over the years, with two DUI arrests in 2024 alone. As for Taran Noah Smith, he — like JTT — quit acting following Home Improvement.
Given the fact that Jonathan Taylor Thomas worked with Tim Allen on Last Man Standing and was apparently hanging around the Shifting Gears set, it doesn’t seem out of the question that he might join his former TV dad on another project — either in front of or behind the camera. As for an actual Home Improvement spinoff, however, I’m not holding my breath.
While Tim Allen has said he’s talked to Jonathan Taylor Thomas and his on-screen brothers about an idea he has, his TV wife Patricia Richardson shot down talk of a reboot in 2024 and said Thomas had also denied talking to Allen about it.
It sounds like Tim Allen’s new ABC sitcom might be our best chance at a reunion. Shifting Gears premiered to middling reviews, with critics noting lots of generation gap jokes and commentary on what’s wrong with kids these days — no surprise to those familiar with Allen’s brand of comedy. If you want to check out the show and keep an eye out for a JTT reunion, Shifting Gears airs at 8 p.m. ET Wednesdays on ABC and streaming on Hulu the next day.
