Tim Allen Thanks Fans for Making SHIFTING GEARS No. 1 Comedy
By Movieguide® Contributor
Tim Allen’s new sitcom, SHIFTING GEARS, has already made milestones at the No. 1 new comedy on TV — with only four episodes so far.
“Thanks everybody for making SHIFTING GEARS the #1 new comedy!” Allen said in an Instagram video of himself on set with the cast. “Thank you” everyone joined in. “That was a little weak…C’mon, bigger!” Allen joked, encouraging them to say “thanks” louder.
The show had nearly 17 million viewers across multiple platforms after just seven days. It had a 173% increase from same-day viewership numbers. The show also achieved a 0.87 rating among adults aged 18-49.
In the show, Allen plays Matt, a car restoration shop owner. He’s in for a shock when his estranged daughter, newly divorced Riley, shows up with her two kids he’s never met.
“LAST MAN STANDING was a wonderful family that had very little discord,” Allen, a Teddy Bear Award® winner, told Parade. “It was the differences as they were growing up and doing things. [Matt] is Wonderful Life-ish.”
“Before he could get to Rhode Island School of Design, his dad had a heart attack. And he had to come back to North Hollywood to help take care of his dad’s business. Cut to: Two kids and all of this,” he said. “This is not a Mike Baxter-type guy. I think of Bob Fosse every time I’m on set screaming about stuff.”
READ MORE: SHIFTING GEARS: EPISODE 1.1: “RESTORATION” REVIEW
Allen stars with Kat Dennings, Brenda Song and Jenna Elfman. LAST MAN STANDING’s Nancy Travis will also appear in the show.
Dennings is “just cut for me,” Allen said. “I swear, the conversations we’ve had on set anyway, different human beings. But we got into it right away, interrupting each other.”
“The character, Riley, made some decisions early in her life because she was p******* at me. You do a lot of stuff because your parents keep saying, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that,’ and you just do it because you’re sick of hearing, ‘Don’t do it.’ She goes, ‘Is getting into a relationship just because my dad’s pissed at the guy a good reason to get into a relationship?’ That’s so much what this is about. I said, ‘Bingo, we’ve got it.’”
New episodes of SHIFTING GEARS air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
READ MORE: TIM ALLEN’S NEW SITCOM GETS LAST MAN STANDING REUNION
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