Tim Allen & Kat Dennings’ Shifting Gears Ordered at ABC, Showrunners Depart

ABC has officially ordered Shifting Gears to series, with Tim Allen and Kat Dennings still on board to star in the multi-camera comedy. The series is still in search of a new showrunner. 

Although Shifting Gears was initially ordered to pilot at ABC earlier this year, some setbacks occurred during production. Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully, who were announced to co-write and co-executive produce the pilot episode, have both exited Shifting Gears since. 

Meanwhile, the Nick role — previously given to The Strangers: Chapter 1 star Froy Gutierrez back in May — will be recast. 

What is Shifting Gears about?

Shifting Gears follows Matt (played by Allen) — a character described as “a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop” — whose life will soon undergo its own “restoration” process when his estranged daughter and her teenage children relocate into his house. 

In addition to Allen and Dennings, Shifting Gears will also star Daryl “Chill” Mitchell (Brothers) as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins (The Sleepover) as Carter, and Barrett Margolis as Georgia. Allen will serve as one of the show’s executive producers alongside Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina, and John Pasquin. The show hails from 20th Television.

Shifting Gears marks Allen’s third project with ABC, following his stint as Tim Taylor in the long-running hit Home Improvement, which ran for eight seasons from 1991 to 1999. He also starred as Mike Baxter in Last Man Standing (2011–2017), which aired for six seasons. Both shows are available to stream on Hulu. He is most notably known for lending his voice to Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise.

Dennings, on the other hand, is best known for her roles as Max Black in 2 Broke Girls and Jules Wiley in Dollface. Her other movie and television credits include The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Suburban Gothic, Friendsgiving, Thor: Love and Thunder, Raising Dad, Big Mouth, Dallas & Robo, and WandaVision, among others. 

No release date has been set yet for Shifting Gears.

(Source: Variety)