Patricia Richardson and Tim Allen Getty Images (2)
Patricia Richardson is opening up about the pay gap between herself and Tim Allen on long-running sitcom Home Improvement and how she used it to bring an end to the series.
When Richardson, 73, spoke to the Los Angeles Times for the 25th anniversary of the series finale, she shared that Allen was being offered $2 million per episode to return for a ninth season — double what the studio was planning to pay her.
Richardson said that prior to the end of the eighth season, she and Allen agreed that Home Improvement was done. Longtime directors had left the series, which put Allen and Richardson in the awkward position of explaining their established characters to newcomers. She told her friends “there’s not enough money in the world to get me to do a ninth year. The show is over. It needs to end.” Allen agreed, according to Richardson, until he saw Disney’s extension offer.
Richardson felt betrayed and used Allen’s acceptance to end the series. She asked for the exact same offer, fully aware that she would be declined.
