ABC’s Shifting Gears proves this is Tim Allen‘s sitcom world — and we are all just living in it.
The official trailer for the upcoming show premiered on Monday, December 30, and introduced Us to Allen’s character Matt, a widowed father who reconnects with estranged daughter Riley (Kat Dennings).
“I’m crawling home because I’m broke and need a place to stay until I figure out what the rest of my life looks like,” Riley admits in the sneak peek before Matt agrees. “Really? Because I haven’t changed a lot!”
The arrangement has its ups and downs — especially when Riley’s two kids move in. “Can we try to talk to each other like rational adults?” Riley asks as Matt quips, “Have you watched the news lately? That’s not a thing anymore.”
Matt makes it clear that he has a “certain way of doing things,” which often puts him and Riley at odds.
“If I want to do something that you don’t like, you just look at the roof over your head and go, ‘OK,’” Matt says later in the clip. Riley, meanwhile, responds, “I’m not sure you understand how bridges work.”
In addition to Dennings, 38, and Allen, 71, Shifting Gears also stars Seann William Scott, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis.
Before his return to the sitcom world, Allen became a fan-favorite TV dad with his role as Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, which ran from 1991 to 1999. He later portrayed Mike Baxter for nine seasons on Last Man Standing.
“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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Allen praised Last Man Standing for not trying to reinvent the wheel.
“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 1735670336, I’ve just got girls, so you see how a man differs in his perspective when he has so many strong women around him,” he continued. “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, played Max on CBS’ sitcom 2 Broke Girls from 2011 to 2017. Shifting Gears also marks Scott’s third series regular role after he starred on Welcome to Flatch and Lethal Weapon.
Shifting Gears premieres on ABC Wednesday, January 8, at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
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