Tim Allen’s new sitcom Shifting Gears was one of the biggest new hits of this television season. Incredibly, this marks the third straight hit for Allen!
In a recent interview, Allen’s Shifting Gears co-star Kat Dennings is opening up about an emotional moment that the two of them shared on set.
Allen And Dennings Share Emotional Moment
Both Allen, 71, and Dennings, 38, are seasoned pros when it comes to sitcoms. Indeed, Allen starred on Home Improvement from 1991 until 1999 and then Last Man Standing from 2011 until 2021. Meanwhile, Dennings was the lead in the sitcom 2 Broke Girls, which ran on CBS from 2011 until 2017.
Despite these years of experience both Allen and Dennings were nervous when it came time to film an emotional scene that they shared playing a father and daughter on Shifting Gears.
“We were both dreading it,” Dennings recalled on Kylie Kelce’s “Not Gonna Lie” podcast. “We were like, ‘Oh God, we have to cry. What is this?’ It’s like, I looked at him and I started crying, he looked at me and he started crying. It was real. In the first episode, we both get emotional and it was real.”
“It’s incredible to do with him and the kids. I mean, everybody is really amazing,” she continued. “That just makes the funny parts even funnier and such a relief to do. It’s just been a very good, organic-feeling show to me. Which is new, it’s a new experience for me.”
Related: Tim Allen’s New Sitcom ‘Shifting Gears’ Is Dominating The Competition In The Ratings
Shifting Gears Has A Deeper Message
In Shifting Gears, Allen plays Matt, the widowed owner of a car restoration shop. His world is turned upside down when his estranged daughter, played by Dennings, moves into his home with her children. Dennings went on to explain that the show is more than just a typical sitcom. It also deals with “grief and real issues,” which she said can feel “kind of crazy to be raw and emotional in front of an audience.”
“It’s this incredible combination of theater and burlesque, or something like that,” she added. “But as soon as I look into Tim Allen’s little face, I’m in there. I forget about everything else.”
Dennings gushed over Allen, calling him a “very present actor” who is “really feeling these things.”
“I really haven’t experienced that a huge amount because, like me, people are thinking about their next line or whatever they’re doing,” she admitted. “He’s so in the moment and he’s such an amazing actor. He will just be there with you and experience these feelings without having to think.”
When Dennings was offered the role on Shifting Gears, accepting it was a no-brainer for her.
“This is Tim Allen’s next sitcom,” she concluded. “He’s an icon of television, so I was like, I can’t really pass up this opportunity, this would be really fun. And it is.”
Related: Tim Allen’s ‘Shifting Gears’ Co-Star Is Terrified Show Won’t Come Back As It Hasn’t Been Renewed
Allen Loves Filming Shifting Gears
As for Allen, he’s also made it clear that he’s loved filming Shifting Gears.
“Somebody I was talking to called me the Tom Brady of TV with those three sitcoms, and I hadn’t thought of that but it got in my head,” Allen recently told USA Today.
Even after all these years, Allen is still in love with the sitcom format. One of his favorite things about Shifting Gears is getting to shoot the show old-school style in front of a live studio audience.
“Back in the day, this is how it was, you rehearsed it and shot it in front of real people, and I love that,” Allen explained. “In the movies, OK maybe I make the crew bust up, but that’s it. Doing Shifting Gears, I get to aim for the whole audience plus the crew. There’s nothing like it.”
Yesterday, we reported that Shifting Gears was finally renewed for a second season by ABC. If you haven’t seen season one yet, be sure to catch up now before Shifting Gears returns in the fall!
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