The History Channel has released the first trailer for Assembly Required. The new series reunites Home Improvement stars Tim Allen and Richard Karn for their first substantial television work in 22 years. Both Allen and Karn serve as executive producers on the new show, which premieres Tuesday, February 23rd at 10PM ET/PT. The duo will be joined by woodworking do-it-yourself YouTube star April Wilkerson who will act as the series’ own resident expert.
In the new hourly, 10-episode competition series, Tim Allen and Richard Karn spotlight the best and brightest makers from across the country, as they compete head-to-head, to create mind-blowing builds– everything from a dual all-season ice melter/leaf blower and all-in-one riding comfort mower to a do-it-yourself jacuzzi and BBQ bicycle — which not only pushes each builder beyond their limits but challenges their inner fixer and inventor to build it bigger, better and more powerful. Allen shows up in the first Assembly Required footage to reveal his iconic grunting from Home Improvement. Allen had this to say about reuniting with Karn.
“They say a longtime friend is someone who responds with, ‘This is by far your worst idea ever’… Fortunately, this was a great idea working with Richard. I loved those days doing ‘Tool Time.’ We both share a great appreciation of people who can solve a problem not by talking about it, but by ‘doing’ it with creativity and amazing building skills. Plus it gives me more time to make fun of his fake beard.”
Assembly Required features three incredible makers each week who compete from their own home shops to create insane builds with their bare hands while both Tim Allen and Richard Karn pop in virtually to deliver colorful commentary and oversee their work across two challenge rounds. Resident expert April Wilkerson serves as Allen and Karn’s go-to source on the ‘how and why’ of each build, breaking down the complexities and giving the audience a bird’s eye view of what our challengers are up against. Karn is also excited about the new show and to be working with Allen again. You can read what he had to say below.
“Tim has always been jealous of my facial hair…mainly because when he grows his it looks a bit off…but I will say this has been one of his best ideas ever. Working alongside him has been the bright spot of this difficult year. We see eye to eye on a lot of things, but if nothing else this show has brought out the differences in our own personal design preferences and when you add in the creativity of our contestants, well let’s just say, it brings me great joy to be a part of this!”
Round one of Assembly Required consists of the “make-or-break challenge” where all three makers have 90 minutes to build an item of Tim Allen and Richard Karn’s choosing while using the items specifically curated for them in their “mystery crates.” The way the show is organized and reminiscent of the cooking show Chopped, where chefs have limited time to create dishes from random material chosen for them. Round one builds this season include a fire extinguisher, water fountain, treadmill, and handheld vacuum to name a few. All three makers will test their final constructs for the guys with only two moving on to round two to compete in the “run-with-it challenge.”
The “run-with-it-challenge” will give contestants five full days to construct something that has never been created before by using the contents of another “mystery crate,” along with parts from their round one build. What the final two don’t know is April Wilkerson will throw a monkey wrench into their plans with “April’s Secret Challenge,” covertly tricking up one of the parts, so it will require a surprise repair. This ensures they aren’t just builders and inventors but also fixers. The final two builds will be shipped to Tim Allen’s workshop where he and Richard Karn will personally test each creation based on three criteria — quality, design and functionality. The winning maker takes home $5,000 in cash and the ultimate bragging rights. You can check out the first trailer for Assembly Required above, thanks to the History Channel YouTube channel.