Last week, we reported that Tim Allen’s new sitcom Shifting Gears had finally been renewed for a second season. This came after the show was a huge hit for ABC ever since its mid-season premiere back in June.
Fans are likely well aware that this is Allen’s third hit sitcom – in an industry where you’re lucky to get one.
In a new interview, Allen is opening up about why he thinks viewers have loved his sitcoms for decades.
Allen Talks Sitcom Success
The secret sauce? Simple! Relatability.
“You get 23 minutes to resolve [a problem],” Allen, 71, told Closer Weekly. “It’s really easy [on the show], but it’s not so easy in real life.””
“I really think it’s because they were grounded,” he added of his sitcoms. “I’ll give myself some credit. The ideas were a good set up.”
Allen went on to specifically discuss the respective success that Home Improvement and Last Man Standing enjoyed.
“I think the foundation of Home Improvement was really good,” Allen explained. He added that he “wanted the marriage to be really affectionate — not bickering all the time. I wanted the three boys to be three boys, not two boys and a girl.”
Related: Tim Allen Returns To ‘Home Improvement’ For First Time In Decades – ‘Where It All Began’
Allen Talks Last Man Standing And Home Improvement
As for Last Man Standing, Allen said it was the “same thing.”
“The relationship with [TV wife] Nancy Travis,” he continued. “I wanted to be very affectionate, [but they] have three girls, not three boys. So, I had to deal with all one gender. It was wonderful to do that.”
On Shifting Gears, Allen’s character Matt is a widower who owns a car shop. His life is turned upside down when his estranged daughter, who is played by the former 2 Broke Girls star Kat Dennings, comes home to live with him along with her two children. Allen made it clear in this interview that he’s loved working with Dennings on this sitcom.
“Kat’s a brilliant actor — same birthday as mine, many years apart!” he stated. “Her character, Riley, got pregnant in high school and all her plans changed. She was going to go to law school. Instead, she went off to be a musician and had two kids. And things didn’t go very well. Now, she crawls back home. [My character doesn’t] think it’s a good idea, but I can’t say no to her.”
Related: Tim Allen’s ‘Shifting Gears’ Co-Star Kat Dennings Remembers Crying With Him During Filming
Allen Still Loves The Sitcom Format
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 previously told USA Today. “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.”
In the end, Allen can’t help but be grateful for all the sitcom success that he’s had over the years.
“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 admitted.
Thankfully, Shifting Gears is officially coming back for a second season. We can’t wait to see the hilarious antics that Allen gets up to in the next season of this sitcom!
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