It hurts to hear about how industry politics behind the scenes can stain a show's integrity. All fans know is that they love or hate it. They don't know the petty gossip and unfairness behind it all. This is the case for Patricia Richardson on Home Improvement.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, the actress known as 'Jill Taylor' on the show reveals how disparity in pay led to the series crumbling. "When I took the job, they said it wasn't meant to be the Tim Allen show. It was meant to be our show," she explains.
When the third season comes around, Richardson goes back to negotiations, arguing for her merit on the show. She lands four episodes per season dedicated to her character and agrees to residuals on the backend of the show's earnings. She emphasizes, "I knew that residuals just get less and less, and I felt that I am going to end up being a huge part of whatever this show is. It's going to work because of me almost as much as because of Tim."
However, Disney and the show's creators deny her a producer credit. By this point, she is fine with the show but she wants to spend more time with her kids. Furthermore, Allen agrees that it's time to end their run on the show.
Richardson Details The End of 'Home Improvement'
She goes on to explain how she utilized the obvious pay inequality to force Disney's hand in ending the series. A part of her knows they wouldn't pay her the extra million dollars to equal Tim Allen. So she uses it as an out. "I knew that 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 details. "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 leaves her out to dry after all of this. "I was mad at Tim because he was leaving me alone being the only person saying no, which made me feel terrible and like the bad guy and he was upset with me for leaving,"she expresses.
Additionally, Richardson blames him for the series not garnering the love it deserves. She claims Hollywood 'hates our show' and it has a lot to do with Tim Allen's politics. Regardless, she concludes, "I'm really proud of what it meant to our audience. I don't care what anybody says, I'm proud of the legacy."
