Tim Allen Talks Returning To The World Of Sitcoms In Shifting Gears

Tim Allen returns to the world of sitcoms with Shifting Gears, a new show from creators Mike and Julie Thacker Scully and showrunner Michelle Nader. In the series, a widower and car workshop owner named Matt (Allen) takes in his estranged daughter Riley (Kay Dennings) and her two kids (Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis). The show also features Sean William Scott and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as workers at Matt’s auto shop.

Allen is, of course, a sitcom legend. The actor and comedian led Home Improvement, a sitcom based on his own stand-up comedy material, from 1991 to 1999. The role even won Allen a Golden Globe award. Allen’s next sitcom, Last Man Standing, ran for even longer, beginning in 2011 and ending in 2021 after 194 episodes. In addition to his TV roles, Allen has starred in truly beloved movies and franchises including Toy Story (Allen recently gave an optimistic Toy Story 5 update) and The Santa Clause.

2:01 Related Shifting Gears Official Trailer Tim Allen and Kat Dennings play a father and daughter who begin to reconnect while living together in ABC's upcoming sitcom Shifting Gears.

ScreenRant spoke with Shifting Gears star Tim Allen about starting in his latest sitcom. Allen discussed how his personal life influences the kinds of shows he stars in, how his real-life passion for cars informs his character decisions, and his relationships with his Shifting Gears co-stars. Plus, Allen shared his experience working with showrunner Michelle Nader and praised the expertise she brought to the project.

Tim Allen Reveals The Origins Of Shifting Gears & Talks Working With Showrunner Michelle Nader

Allen Shaped The Concept Of Shifting Gears By Envisioning Its Family Dynamic & Restoration Business

ScreenRant: As somebody who has starred in their share of sitcoms, what is it about this particular concept that felt unique compared to other family-centered stories you've been a part of?

Tim Allen: Well, luckily, the way this has worked in the past is, I've inputted the formula—the groundwork—of what kind of sitcom I want. Home Improvement was my standup act. That's what the first five episodes were based on, and my love of This Old House—Norm (Abram), and Bob Vila, and all that. [For] Last Man Standing, I wanted to have three daughters. I have two, and I wanted to see what it was like to have daughters only, and all women all the time—and to have a great business with a great outdoor system, [because] I used to work in an outdoor thing. I said, “If I did want to do another linear TV show,” which I never really liked because of the censorship—now I love it, because of the boundaries. It’s safe for the family. And I’m a blue comedian, so believe me, these are very conflicting opinions—I said, “I want to do two kids that are grown, one who I do not get along with, and then I want a restoration business that I happened into, like Jimmy Stewart in It’s A Wonderful Life.” [My Shifting Gears] character, Matt Parker, went to Rhode Island School of Design, and on his way to school, his dad had a massive heart attack. He had to come back to North Hollywood to take over the business and never became a designer. He never followed his dream, so there's that little frustration [about] what my life could have been. I had two kids—one's in the Navy, who we’ll meet later—and then Kat Dennings, [who is] wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. She plays my daughter, who left in high school. I wanted a contentious relationship with her, all while my wife, the love of my life, went out jogging and had a heart attack and died. It sounds like a terrible tragedy, and it is. Somehow this guy saved a sense of humor and turned into a crotchety [man]. We're dealing with grief as it comes out. Then, his daughter comes back in his life and needs a place to stay. It's just the wrong time, but he says yes anyway. So, it's all this stuff, and then we’ve got this great cast in the shop, and we're going to do restoration of cars. I’ve got two worlds going on—restoring stuff that was old and needs help, and then the relationship. That's all the undercurrent, the underlayment, if you will, of the show, and I don't want to make it too deep. Then, I get to play pretty much the comic that I am on stage, which is closer to me, how I view life, and what I think is funny about life. And what I don't think is funny about life is still funny, because I'm a comedian. It's a pretty organic guy. Some of the ad-libs I come up with are just the guy who does my standup, and I've been doing standup concerts for 34 years now.

Your showrunner, Michelle Nader, mentioned that she came onto the project after the pilot was shot. What new insights or ideas did she bring after she joined?

Tim Allen: The Scullys wrote the North Star—the pilot—and there’s a brilliant emotional beat in that. Michelle came on, has done sitcoms before, and was more versed in the context of a sitcom. The Scullys were brilliant at the emotional beats of it, but we can't just keep doing that. Michelle was able to expand this with another set of writers, and she'd been a showrunner before. It's a very different job than head writer. It's complex. I don't know much about that business. She’s been able to expand the writers’ room and then really get me. I am a very detail-oriented guy. It sounds like an acting thing. “Where was I before this,” and, “Where am I heading to after the scene?” It's important to me—especially the car stuff. “What are we doing to these cars?” We just can't make up stuff. I'm a car guy and car guys will watch this show because we have a great set and great cars on there, but whatever we're doing has to make sense. I just can't make stuff up. Michelle has gotten my older daughter, who runs my car shop in North Hollywood, [on] as kind of the producer of that show, and she's got it down. “This has got a 409 bubble top—don't touch it. Put the four-speed on it.” And Daryl “Chill” Williams is in a wheelchair because of a motorcycle accident, so he can't be moving engines around. He's on the upholstery side of it. It's these real little details that Michelle goes, “Got it, got it.” She listens, and right now it's really in a beautiful place.

About Shifting Gears

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Shifting Gears stars Tim Allen as Matt, a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. The real restoration begins, however, when Matt’s estranged daughter Riley (Kat Dennings) and her kids move into his house. The show also stars Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Sean William Scott, Maxwell Simkins, and Barrett Margolis.

Shifting Gears premieres January 8 on ABC.