The legendary comedian Tim Allen of Home Improvement fame is speaking out this week to reveal what’s wrong with modern day sitcoms, many of which have gone woke.
Allen Sounds Off
While appearing on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast on Monday, Allen said that excessive diversity processes hinder the creativity of a successful sitcom. He explained that the only thing that is required of a sitcom is “to be funny,” not to check as many woke diversity boxes as possible.
“My wife says, ‘Why do you keep saying that?’ And I said, ‘Somebody told me I was like the Tom Brady of sitcoms.’ When they asked me to do a third one, I said, ‘I thought they were kidding,’” said Allen, 72. “I don’t know whether my generation — because all the people that I know that I would make it with are either dead or not the right gender, you know, they’re all light-skinned European older men — and that doesn’t fit the DEI thing that everybody wanted. They wanted, you know, a potpourri of…”
Maher interrupted to say that they would have put “DEI in the cast.”
“I didn’t want to get into that. I didn’t want to patronize people,” Allen continued. “If you’re going to do a sitcom, it’s just got to be funny. You got to have some drama.”
Maher was quick to agree. He argued that while diversity is a “great virtue,” it is also not the only one.
“Not everything in America has to look like Angelina Jolie’s Christmas card, you know, sometimes, and it’s always OK in reverse,” Maher stated. “You know, it’s like if there’s something where it’s just an all-Black cast — and good, I’m all for it. I’m not complaining about it.”
Maher Doubles Down
Maher, who has long been a critic of DEI practices despite being a liberal himself, went on to bring up an initiative CBS launched in 2020. This initiative set a target to have a minimum of 40% Black, Indigenous and people of color representation in writers’ rooms. CBS said at the time that it was hoping to increase this figure to 50%.
“I thought, what if the show they’re writing is about a polka band in a ski town?” Maher lamented. He added that while DEI has some benefits, it should never impede on creativity.
“I love people of color, and I’m so glad that things are better than they used to be for people of color, but you know, it shouldn’t intrude on the creative process to the degree it has in this town,” Maher concluded. “It has intruded on the creative process. And by the way, lots of people of color agree with that because they want the creative process to be pure, too.”
Allen’s Sitcom Success
If anyone knows what he’s talking about when it comes to sitcom success, it is Tim Allen. Indeed, Allen has starred on three hugely successful sitcoms, one of which is still on the air right now.
Allen’s first hit sitcom was Home Improvement, which ran from 1991 until 1999. He then starred on Last Man Standing from 2011 until 2021. These days, Allen is starring on Shifting Gears. That sitcom is currently on its second season on ABC, with episodes airing on Wednesday nights.
It’s no secret that Hollywood has gone far too woke in recent years. Sadly, the quality of modern sitcoms has suffered greatly as a result of this.
If the liberal elites of Hollywood are smart, they’ll take notice of what Allen had to say here. Here’s hoping that Hollywood wisens up and starts making better sitcoms again moving forward.