Home Improvement Star Tim Allen Returns to ABC for New Sitcom Shifting Gears

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As a die-hard fan of Tim Allen’s comedic genius, I can’t help but feel like Christmas has come early! With his return to ABC after all these years, it’s like having Santa Claus himself back on our screens! From Home Improvement to Last Man Standing and everything in between, Tim Allen has been a staple in my household for decades.

Tim Allen is returning to ABC, the network where he became famous with his hit show Home Improvement. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, ABC has greenlit a new sitcom, Shifting Gears, featuring Allen as the main character and Kat Dennings (known for WandaVision and Thor) in the role of his daughter. This multi-camera sitcom marks Allen’s first sitcom since the conclusion of Last Man Standing at Fox in 2021.

In a classic car restoration workshop, Allen, a self-willed widower, is the owner. His life takes an unexpected turn when his estranged daughter Riley (Dennings), along with her husband’s separation and teenage kids, decides to move back in with him. As per the sitcom description, it’s then when the true restoration, not just of cars but also of relationships, starts. The series is scheduled to debut on ABC in 2025, and the network anticipates that it might follow the success of shows like Home Improvement, given their limited collection of hit sitcoms beyond Abbott Elementary and The Connors.

Kat Dennings made her big break in the TV show “Raising Dad” from 2001. Since then, she’s been in several successful comedies such as “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Charlie Bartlett,” “The House Bunny,” and “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” For six seasons, she played a leading role on the CBS sitcom “2 Broke Girls,” even winning a People’s Choice Award. She currently stars in the Hulu series “Dollface” and hasn’t dismissed the idea of rejoining the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The series also features Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, known for his role in Fear the Walking Dead, as Ed; Maxwell Simkins, recognized from The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, as Carter; and Barrett Margolis making her television debut as Georgia. This comedy show is a kind of reunion for Galaxy Quest, as Mitchell previously starred alongside Allen in the movie, playing Tommy Webber, an actor on the Star Trek-esque series from the film. Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully, who wrote the pilot and served as showrunners for The Simpsons and Duncanville, are now taking on executive producer roles for this series.

Shifting Gears Adds to Tim Allen’s Comic Legacy

Tim Allen isn’t just a comedy icon, but he’s also shown remarkable resilience in an ever-evolving entertainment world. He transitioned from stand-up comedy to television with the hit series “Home Improvement” in 1991, which catapulted him to stardom on TV during the ’90s. Following this success, he began leading family films for Disney, such as “Jungle 2 Jungle” and “The Santa Clause.”

Back in 1995, I lent my voice to Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, a movie by Pixar that sparked an Academy Award-winning, billion-dollar film series, revolutionizing Disney. After that, I kept up the momentum with family favorites like Christmas with the Kranks and The Shaggy Dog, and joined the ranks of sci-fi comedy legends in Galaxy Quest. In 2011, I made a comeback to network sitcoms with Last Man Standing, which ran for six seasons on ABC before moving to Fox for three more. Recently, I’ve donned the red suit once again as Scott Calvin/Santa Claus in The Santa Clauses on Disney+.

Shifting Gears
premieres in 2025 on ABC.

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2024-07-31 14:02