Richard Karn on PEN15, Teen Awkwardness, and a Potential Home Improvement Reunion

In Hulu’s coming-of-age comedy PEN15, creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, famous people as variations of themselves, relive the rigors, pleasures, and cargo shorts that described the turn-of-the-century tween revel in. For two comedians raised in the ’90s, who better to solid as a figure than one among that decade’s sitcom stars? Home Improvement’s Richard Karn, ingrained in millennial recollections as the plaid-clad Al Borland, takes on the position of Maya’s father, who in PEN15 is the drummer for a Steely Dan cover band that plays hotel swimming pools. In real life, Erskine’s father, Peter, is a successful jazz musician who’s played with the actual Steely Dan, amongst others. We talked to Karn about taking up the position, picking up drumming guidelines from the real Mr. Erskine, and the prospect of a Home Improvement revival.

So, Maya Erskine cast her actual mother to play her mom in the display. However, she added you in to play her father. Was it intimidating to tackle the sort of personal role? What is the casting manner like?
Well, it was last summertime, and I didn’t realize anything about the show itself. I had seen Maya on a display that she had carried out in Florida; she turned into pretty first-rate on that. I’m blanking on the name of that show — it changed into about a medical expert. I was given a name to play her dad, and it’s humorous because until I met him, I wasn’t quite sure why I specifically got this name. But I look a lot like her dad! Who’s a world-magnificence drummer, via the way? He changed into [’70s jazz fusion band Weather Report] and the entirety. So he helped me look like I understand a way to drum.

What kind of recommendations did he come up with?

He, without a doubt, helped me with how he held the sticks. There are a bunch of various styles. You’ve been given Ringo, who does the cross-over, and you’ve also got him, which is an extra parallel. He gave me an inherent ability for what he did. My man or woman isn’t as well-known as him because Maya wanted me to be in a Steely Dan cover band, so I’m in a band known as Stealing Dan. Which, you realize, required basic rock-and-roll drumming.

Were you a Steely Dan fan ahead?

Their songs have been continually among my playlists. I’m antique, so they were up-and-coming after I became an excessive college and university student. [Laughs.]
Do you have a favorite drummer?
Well, permit’s see. When you’re in high faculty, you learn how to drum in class to your pocketbook. Some runs from “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida” or “Wipeout,” or even Ringo Starr had one little drum solo at the quit of Abbey Road. I bet the biggest issue turned into looking Buddat y Rich on Ed Sullivan because he has become well-known in an abnormal way for being a drummer.

Did you ever play a device yourself?

I took saxophone in a simple school, and I was taught to rattle off a quite suitable “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

It seems like you can relate to Maya’s scenario within the display, where she’s a subpar instrumentalist in a faculty musical.
Oh God, that episode was a lot of fun to do. Working with Maya, the script is there, but from time to time, you just sideways a bit. It turned into honestly a laugh filming it. It didn’t feel like Home Improvement, like a chain where you rehearsed aft, er which did you it in front of a target audience. It turned into something extra, like making an unbiased movie for a few months.

Was it peculiar to behave across Maya’s real-life mother, Mutsuko Erskine, considering she manifestly is aware of your position better than you do?

Well, I realize I enjoyed it. For not being an educated actor, she became very adorable and herbal—and he or she knew that role inside and out because she became that position. She was Maya’s mom! She wasn’t seeking to do greater than what she became. And she never said to me, “Oh, you should do this as it’s more like my husband could have finished.” We were given along properly.

The display is about the year 2000, glaringly for the creators, became a completely nostalgic time.
Yeah, which doesn’t resonate with me that a good deal. It’s no longer like going to the ’60s or ’70s, which for me might be nostalgic. But the one element about the year 2000, I bet, is the truth that there wasn’t a great deal of social media. That’s a huge issue. You had to do stuff over a landline phone.

What was that year like for you?

The 12 months of 2000 were very thrilling because it changed into the year after Home Improvement was completed. I had eight excellent years of doing a regular task, and then it turned into a kind of like leaving faculty, in a way. All of an unexpected, a while isn’t as established; you need to discern what you want to do and what the following component to try for and be a part of. Plus, the 12 months of 2000 changed into all mixed in with “Oh my God, we’re going to pass into a new century. Are the clocks going to work?” There was all that bizarre hysteria.

How much of the youngster’s revelry depicted at the show is the same as it was when you got here of age?

Gosh, I assume it’s pretty comparable. Even though you didn’t have the explosion of MySpace or Facebook or any of these early matters. They had lots of more channels on TV. When I changed into developing up, you didn’t have the back-the-scenes stuff like VH1 or E! Entertainment. You knew the bands at face fee, and if you had been a big fan, you’d study their testimonies in magazines. For the youngsters developing up in the year 2000, there were greater statistics. So, you had a greater of a transition from being oblivious to being state-of-the-art.

What form of youngster did you want when you were 13?

Well, it turned into finding a way to deal with women for me. It’s nonetheless certainly tough because you’re seeking to navigate these kinds of special businesses. And who are you? Are you the cool child, nerd, athlete, popular, or shy? Today, there will be lots of identical human reactions and developments.

Given Erskine and Konkle’s age, they probably grew up watching Home Improvement, right? Did they ask you about the display?

Yeah, they grew up with it, and they watched it with their families. That’s the remarkable issue about being in a display like that—it becomes very famous with children who then are actually grown-up, and they come up to me now and say that I became a large part of their early life. It’s no longer truly about me anymore; it’s about how the display influenced people’s technology.

In one scene, you can see a Jonathan Taylor Thomas poster on Anna’s bedroom door. Since you’re on display, that would mean someone else has to have played Al Borland inside the PEN15 universe. Do you have any idea who it could’ve been?
Well, it could be my son now. Oh God, thank you for that idea! I would possibly pitch it to the writers.

Is your son vintage enough to play Al?

Oh, yeah. He’s younger than when I started; however, he looks like me.

Could you keep it in the circle of relatives?
Exactly.

Speaking of, will there ever be a Home Improvement reboot or reunion?

Great strides are being made. Tim [Allen] wanted to reboot Last Man Standing, so he’s taking a year or two or anything to accomplish that. After that, perhaps we’ll look at Home Improvement. We’ll see what the manufacturers have in store. It’ll be exciting to see where human beings turn out to be two decades later and if we will sustain something thrilling for humans to watch.

What stage of talks has there been?

Talking to the actors who could have been there. I think they’re all in accord. The producers, which are Wind Dancer and Disney, need to come to terms. They had a bit bit of a falling out they’re seeking to rectify.

Any idea what the show might seem like?

Yeah … we don’t have Wilson. Tim thought it might be a great idea to have everyone meet at his funeral. That could be a terrific jumping-off factor. What would Al have given into? Maybe he would end up a contractor once more, or perhaps he could have some other little display like Yankee Workshop. I think that could be excellent.