Patricia Richardson posted a selfie on Instagram Wednesday with two of her former “Home Improvement” TV sons, and the internet did what it always does with 1990s sitcom nostalgia: it lit up. The photo shows Richardson, 75, flanked by Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Noah Smith, captioned simply, “My other boys,” with a heart emoji.
For eight seasons on ABC, Richardson played Jill Taylor opposite Tim Allen’s Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, raising three sons who grew up on camera between 1991 and 1999. Thomas played middle son Randy; Smith played youngest son Mark. Both have largely stepped away from the spotlight. Thomas, now 44, shifted his focus to writing and directing after finishing his education and rarely appears in public. Smith, 42, hasn’t held an acting credit since 1999.
The reunion photo lands weeks after Allen himself reignited chatter about the show’s future — and not in a flattering way for his former co-stars. In a June interview with Us Weekly, Allen said a long-discussed reboot remains stalled because of “personality problems right now with the boys.” He added, “They’ve got their own issues,” pointing to a story he once hoped to build around the grown Taylor sons.
Allen’s remark referenced more than creative disagreements. Zachery Ty Bryan, who played eldest son Brad, is currently serving prison time in California tied to probation violations from a felony DUI conviction, with an additional Oregon sentence connected to a 2023 domestic violence case still ahead of him.
Smith left acting altogether, and Richardson has said on the “Back to the Best” podcast that Thomas wants to direct rather than perform. She also pushed back on Allen’s public framing of the cast’s willingness to return, saying he never personally approached her about a revival and that she “would not want to” participate regardless.
Richardson, Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning have already crossed paths with Allen again, appearing alongside him in the second season of ABC’s “Shifting Gears.” A full Taylor family reunion remains, by Allen’s own account, unlikely anytime soon. Richardson’s photo offered no caption explaining the get-together and no hint of a project behind it, just three castmates from a show that ended 27 years ago, still checking in on each other.
