Tim Allen Doesn’t Want You to Miss This Father-Daughter Dynamic
By Movieguide® Contributor
Tim Allen and Kat Dennings are excited for everyone to see their new sitcom, SHIFTING GEARS, and hope everyone enjoys watching it as much as they enjoyed making it.
SHIFTING GEARS is “a story about relationships that can be repaired,” Allen said. “Or restored, as we say.”
Allen plays Matt Parker, owner of a classic car restoration shop. After his wife’s death, his estranged daughter comes back into his life with a set of grandkids.
“She just shows up on his doorstep with her two kids. She’s getting a divorce, and her life is falling apart,” Dennings says of her character, Riley. “She has no money and she needs to stay with him. So it turns both their lives upside down.”
“It’s a very relatable story of a family trying to restore itself,” said showrunner Michelle Nader.
Though the father and daughter have different beliefs and ways of doing things, they are similar in character.
“So when they butt heads, it’s just very, very funny,” Dennings said.
While their characters may not always like being paired up, the actors enjoy working together.
“Kat’s so freaking talented,” Allen shared. “We’re born on the same day, which is kind of weird. Certainly different ages!”
Dennings said, “Tim’s a really amazing actor, and I’ve told him this to his face, so I’m definitely happy to say it in print!”
The cast features LETHAL WEOPON’s Seann William Scott as Matt’s coworker, Gabriel, and Daryl Mitchell as his coworker, Stitch.
He’s “a guy who grew up with the family,” Scott said, “and has worked at Matt’s car shop since he was 15. He just loves cars and is a weirdo in all the best ways.”
“I’ve been so freaking fortunate,” Allen said of his co-stars. “They all can do their own scenes, whether I like it or not, without me. And it’s just as funny without me in these scenes. Not a good thing for me!”
Future guest stars include Disney star Brenda Song and DHARMA & GREG’s Jenna Elfman.
READ MORE: DISNEY ALUM JOINS TIM ALLEN’S NEW SITCOM SHIFTING GEARS
The series is trying to create a mishmash of classic and modernized TV, with its multicamera setup and live studio audience.
SHIFTING GEARS aims to “restore the classic form and modernize it a little bit,” Nader said. “I think people are really ready for that reinvention.”
“It’s so unlike any other way of making TV or film,” said Dennings, who isn’t new to sitcoms. “It’s a collaborative, magical, fun experience between the audience and the actors.”
Scott’s also enjoying the new experience.
“This is my first multicam experience and I’m absolutely loving it — just doing something totally different than anything I’ve done. It’s not often you get to do that and to be challenged in a totally different way,” he said.
“There’s nothing like sitcoms,” said Allen. “They seem tired. Until you watch one in person.”
Allen intertwined some of his passions in the show, as he’s done with others. He owns an auto shop in real life and features some of his own restored cars on the show. He also enjoys construction, a theme in HOME IMPROVEMENT, and the outdoors, a theme in LAST MAN STANDING.
“I’ve done a full circle. I look around and I’m on the Disney lot, and I keep walking by the HOME IMPROVEMENT set, which is over that way. I sat in front of the set and they still have a sign on it: Home Improvement. I’m kind of finishing, if you will, where I started,” he said.
SHIFTING GEARS premieres on ABC Jan. 8 at 8/7c. Episodes will be available to stream on Hulu the day after they air on ABC.
READ MORE: TIM ALLEN WANTS TO ‘MAKE A STATEMENT’ WITH NEW SITCOM SHIFTING GEARS
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