Tim Allen back on ABC this time to PRODUCE a NEW sitcom

[Pavan]

Tim Allen Tools Sitcom for ABC

Tim Allen is coming back to ABC, signing a deal to produce a sitcom about the state of the American male, circa 2002.

The former "Home Improvement" star is not signed to appear on-camera, but it's not unheard of for actor-producers to make guest appearances on their own shows (as Sandra Bullock has done with ABC's "The George Lopez Show").

Allen, currently stirring up jolly box office with "The Santa Clause 2" -- will serve as creator and executive producer with scribes Mark Brazill ("That '70s Show") and Ron Zimmerman ("Action"). The project is set up at Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, the company behind "That '70s Show."

In a seven-figure deal, ABC has committed to a pilot, with an additional five-episode penalty fee attached if the project isn't picked up as a series.

"We're really ecstatic to have Tim Allen back at ABC," said ABC Entertainment president Susan Lyne. "Tim is one of the most talented people who's ever worked in television."

The untitled series will revolve around "four guys who've been friends since high school, and now the world has changed around them," Lyne said, noting the show will look at the men's interaction with their families and friends.

C-W-M principal Caryn Mandabach said the entire project came together "rather serendipitously. Tim came to see us for a different reason, and we just fell in love with him," she told Daily Variety. "We both realized we had been mucking about in the same territory.

"We haven't seen what's happened to working-class men since 'Tool Time,"' Mandabach added. "There's been an evolving situation with men. You see guys pushing babies around, and the women aren't so perfect anymore. Dan Conner or Tim Taylor would never have had the conversations men are having today."