Patricia Richardson sparked a wave of nostalgia this week by posting a photo alongside two of her Home Improvement co-stars — including one who has largely vanished from public life for decades.
Richardson, best known for playing Jill Taylor on the beloved 1990s ABC sitcom, shared an Instagram photo with Taran Noah Smith and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, the actors who portrayed her onscreen sons Mark and Randy Taylor. The image marked one of the rare occasions fans have seen the three together since Home Improvement wrapped nearly 30 years ago. Richardson captioned the post simply: “My other boys”
Thomas’s presence in the photo drew particular attention. The former child star departed the series before its final season in 1999, stepping away from his role to pursue education. “I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break,” he told PEOPLE in a 2013 interview. Thomas went on to study at Harvard, Columbia, and St. Andrews University in Scotland. “To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool,” he said at the time. “It was a novel experience for me.” He later returned to acting briefly, shifting focus toward directing and writing, but has since stepped back from Hollywood entirely and maintains no social media presence.
Smith, who played the youngest Taylor brother, Mark, also left acting behind after the show ended. According to his LinkedIn page, he now works at SpaceX as a sea recovery technician.
The Reboot Question
With classic television revivals a fixture of the current entertainment landscape, speculation about a potential Home Improvement reboot resurfaces periodically. Star Tim Allen has indicated he’s open to the idea, even floating a concept to his castmates. “It’s funny, one of the conversations we’ve had recently is how weird it would be if Home Improvement would be about the kids’ kids,” Allen said. “Like if all of them had children, and I’m a grandparent. Home Re-Improvement or something like that. It’s come up.”
Richardson, however, has been less enthusiastic. During a 2024 appearance on the Back to the Best podcast, she said she had not been approached about any reboot and, at the time, had no interest in one. “I’m not involved in any series with Jill and I’ve also never even been asked to do another Home Improvement reunion thing, but I would not want to,” she said.
Any potential revival would face additional complications surrounding Zachary Ty Bryan, who played oldest brother Brad. Bryan has been arrested six times in the last five years and is currently serving a 16-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to a felony DUI charge connected to a 2024 incident.
For now, Richardson’s photo offers fans the closest thing to a reunion they’ve seen in years — and given how rarely Thomas surfaces in public, it’s a moment that isn’t likely to be repeated anytime soon.
