Tim Allen is one of the kings of sitcoms in Hollywood, but after leading two of television’s most successful sitcoms—Home Improvement (1991-1999) and Last Man Standing (2011-2021)—he truly wasn’t sure if he had it in him to take on another one. “I didn’t really want to do another one,” Allen admitted in a recent interview with In Touch Weekly. But Shifting Gears, his new ABC comedy, turned out to be exactly what he was looking for, and it’s allowed him to bring some of his real life passions into television.
The series follows Matt Parker, a widowed father who reconnects with his estranged daughter (Kat Dennings) while running a classic car restoration shop, which is a perfect fit for Allen, who restores cars in real life. In fact, the set was designed after his own North Hollywood garage, so it’s easy to see why he feels so at home playing the role, which allows him to tap into what makes him tick off-set too.
“That’s what I’ve always wanted to play. I get to be more of a creative guy in grief over the loss of a wife. It’s a comedy, though!”
Why Did Tim Allen Take On ‘Shifting Gears’?
But despite those initial reservations about taking on the role, Allen couldn’t help but be drawn back in, especially when the full story was presented to him. It’s almost as if the entire thing was written with him in mind, and as a father of two daughters, Allen was also able to find a personal connection to his character.
“I love the sitcom format because of my stand-up,” he explained. “I get to be in a live audience situation. When they said, ‘What would you do if you did another one?’ I said, ‘If a guy had just lost his wife and he’s still able to be funny and [work on] a relationship with an older daughter … and I’d like to build hot rods!’ Kat Dennings said, ‘[Some people] get into a relationship because [their] parents don’t like it. Your parents tell you not to do something, so you do it.’ My daughters are not like that. I mean, we’ve had our problems, of course.”
