Tim Allen and Kat Dennings Have a Rocky Reconciliation in ‘Shifting Gears’ 1st Look

A new insight into Change gears proves it Tim Allen‘s way – or the highway.

IN Us Weekly‘s exclusive first look at the ABC sitcom, Allen’s character, Matt, tries to find common ground with his on-screen daughter, Riley, played by Cat Dennings. Matt lives again with his estranged daughter, and it’s not all without problems.

“I’m broke and I need a place to stay until I figure out what the rest of my life looks like,” Riley tells Matt, who states, “So a few days.”

The sneak peek clip shows Matt explaining that he has a “certain way of doing things,” which Riley points out is just his way or no way. Riley gets some advice from family friend Gabriel (Seann William Scott), who works in Matt’s classic car restoration shop.

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“Your father loves you – and cars. You and cars,” Gabriel notes. “The order is not important.”

According to the promo, Matt and Riley are in for a wild ride as “the wheels come off” amid their tense reunion. The synopsis for the show revealed that Riley’s children with her ex will also play a major role Change gears. In addition to Allen, Dennings and Scott comprise the main cast Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins, Barrett Margolis and Jenna Elfman in a recurring role.

Allen, 71, has his fair share of experience in the sitcom realm, having played Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on ABC’s Home improvement from 1991 to 1999. He later appeared as Mike Baxter on Last man standingwhich ended in 2021 after nine seasons.

“The word that keeps me alive is ‘grateful’. I love what I do, I get far more joy out of entertaining people than anything financially,” Allen shared Us in 2020. “I love the live audience we have. I tell them every night, ‘This is old-school stuff, what television and broadcasting started with.’ I don’t know the future, but this (show) is rare.”

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Allen reflected on the elements that do a successful show, adding: “We did the same thing we did with Home Improvement. It’s about the relationship – we don’t get into current affairs. But (now) I’ve just got girls, so you can 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 a loving family. I like that we honor and make fun – at the same time – of marriage, institution, children, babies, people. But in the same way, we honor it.

Dennings, 38, too has a history with network television and plays Max on the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls from 2011 to 2017. Change gears marks Scott’s third regular role on the series after starring in Welcome to Flatch and Lethal weapon.

Change gears premieres on ABC on Wednesday, January 8 at 8 p.m. ET, before streaming the next day on Hulu.