Inside Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Tim Allen’s Relationship Today

Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Tim Allen may have navigated a few tense moments after the younger star exited “Home Improvement,” but the connection they built across eight seasons clearly never disappeared. Asked in January 2025 whether Thomas might make an appearance on his new sitcom “Shifting Gears,” Allen said the former child star had recently stopped by the production. “He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set,” Allen told Us Weekly. The actor also made it clear their bond runs deeper than nostalgia. “He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on ‘Home Improvement,'” he said.

The idea of Allen reuniting with his former TV son was enough to excite longtime fans, but the buzz grew even louder in July 2026 when Thomas posed with “Home Improvement” castmates Patricia Richardson and Taran Noah Smith. Richardson, who played the Taylor boys’ mother on the hit sitcom, shared the photo on Instagram, instantly reviving hopes for a larger reunion. Viewers had already gotten a small dose of that throwback magic years earlier, when Thomas made a memorable cameo on television.

Thomas appeared on Allen’s sitcom “Last Man Standing” in March 2013, marking a rare on-screen return alongside his former co-star. Even though the two remained friendly, Allen admitted he was surprised Thomas agreed to step in front of the camera again. “But he’s so shy. It’s funny to see him so shy, so nervous,” Allen told Yahoo! Entertainment at the time. For fans curious about what Jonathan Taylor Thomas had been doing after “Home Improvement,” Allen revealed that the actor was more interested in directing than chasing another acting comeback. Thomas had been “shadowing” the show’s director to learn the process, and he ultimately directed three episodes of “Last Man Standing” between 2013 and 2016.

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After Thomas reconnected with Allen on “Last Man Standing,” speculation naturally followed about whether JTT was easing his way back into Hollywood. Thomas, however, suggested he was not especially driven to revive his acting career. Reflecting on his years as one of the most recognizable child stars of the 1990s, he told People in March 2013, “I never took the fame too seriously.” While many fans remember his Tiger Beat covers and teen-idol status, Thomas described that era with distance and perspective. “When I think back on the time, I look at it with a wink. I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers,” he said.

Allen, meanwhile, continued to find success with “Last Man Standing,” which went on to enjoy a lengthy run. By January 2020, the question of another Thomas guest spot resurfaced. Allen did not confirm anything, but he left the door open. “I can’t say, because some of this is in negotiation, but I always love stunt casting,” he told Us Weekly.

Even though Thomas didn’t return to the show, it was good to see him and the “Toy Story” voice actor on such friendly terms. Initially, Thomas had a problem with Allen when he left “Home Improvement” before wrapping up the final season. “He was a little miffed at me,” Allen told the New York Post in May 1999. JTT’s official reason for not finishing the show was that he was stepping away from acting, but he still appeared in some projects, which frustrated Allen. “It got mixed up in the translation,” the veteran TV star told the Post. “I mentioned [publicly] that I was confused. I don’t think he liked that,” he added. Fortunately, that became water under the bridge for Thomas and Allen.