What to Know About Tim Allen and Kat Dennings' ABC Sitcom 'Shifting Gears'

ABC is banking on sitcom icons Tim Allen and Kat Dennings in their upcoming series Shifting Gears.

Allen and Dennings star in the upcoming series, which received a pilot order in March 2024. Shifting Gears centers on the owner of a car restoration shop who gets a chance to reconnect with his estranged daughter and his grandchildren.

The ABC series comes three years after Allen’s previous sitcom Last Man Standing wrapped its nine-season run. Before Last Man Standing, Allen was known for his role as Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, which ran from 1991 to 1999.

“The word that keeps me alive is ‘grateful.’ I love what I do. I get far more enjoyment out of entertaining people than anything monetary,” Allen exclusively told Us Weekly in 2020.. “I love the live audience we have. I tell them every night, ‘This is old-school stuff, what television and broadcast started with.’ I don’t know the future, but this [show] is rare.”

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He added: “We did the same thing as we did with Home Improvement. It’s all about the relationships — we don’t get into topical stuff. But [now], I’ve just got girls, so you see how a man differs in his perspective when he has so many strong women around him. We never make fun [of each other]. It’s an affectionate family. I like the fact that we honor and make fun — at the same time — marriage, institution, kids, babies, people. But in the same way, we honor it. We’re not being snarky about it.”

Dennings, meanwhile, has a history with network TV playing Max in CBS’ sitcom 2 Broke Girls from 2011 to 2017.

Keep scrolling for everything to know about Shifting Gears:

Who Is Starring in ‘Shifting Gears’?

Allen and Dennings play Matt and his estranged daughter, Riley, respectively. Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis round out the cast. The role of Matt’s son — and Riley’s brother — has yet to be cast.

What Is ‘Shifting Gears’ About?

Shifting Gears follows Matt, a stubborn and widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. His life gets turned upside down when his estranged daughter, Riley, moves into his house with her teenage kids. Matt’s son, Nick, is also involved as he puts his life on hold to help his father at the shop.

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When Does ‘Shifting Gears’ Premiere?

The series was ordered by ABC in July 2024 with the pilot being executive-produced by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully. The duo were originally meant to serve as showrunners but TVLine confirmed that someone else will be taking over that role.

Allen serves as an executive producer alongside Last Man Standing‘s executive producers Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina and pilot director John Pasquin.

The show will premiere on January 8, 2025.