India, Sept. 28 -- Home Improvement may have been one of the biggest sitcoms of the 1990s but behind the jokes and family chaos, Patricia Richardson was reportedly fighting to keep the show grounded. Taran Noah Smith, who played Mark Taylor on the hit sitcom, has now opened up about Richardson's role behind the scenes and why she eventually decided she had enough.

Speaking on the Outgrown podcast, Smith recalled how Richardson joined the show just days before the pilot was filmed after Frances Fisher, who was initially cast as Tim Taylor's wife, was replaced.

"When they brought Patricia in, there was just a much better chemistry," he said. According to Smith, Richardson also brought her own experience as a mother into the role and pushe...