Shifting Gears is ushering in a new era of Tim Allen as a TV dad, and while it’s a role that his costar Kat Dennings isn’t unfamiliar with over her years in television and film either, there’s something that sets him apart from the others.
In an interview with People, Dennings sang Allen’s praises, as Dennings revealed, “Tim Allen, I will say, is my favorite TV dad of all time. It’s been a real joy doing this show.”
The actress noted how most of the actor’s crew has stayed working with him through the years, beginning with his days on Home Improvement and through Last Man Standing. As viewers will recall, Home Improvement ran from 1991 to 1999, and Last Man Standing aired between 2011 and 2021.
Disney / Raymond Liu
“They followed him through all of his projects, which I think is a real testament to him as a person,” Dennings pointed out about her onscreen costar. For those who have yet to tune into ABC’s new multi-camera comedy, Shifting Gears follows the relationship between restoration car shop owner Matt (Allen) and his estranged daughter Riley (Dennings) who unexpectedly shows up with her two kids to move in following a proceeding divorce.
“We have a very funny banter. We really enjoy these scenes where we’re arguing. It’s really fun,” Dennings told the outlet. For the performer, Shifting Gears was just what she needed as she shared she’d been living in a “dark, sad moment in time,” before the new gig. “I was like, ‘God, I don’t know what I want to do. I am just feeling so crazy.’”
According to Dennings, she really wanted to get back into the multi-camera comedy game, remembering her days on 2 Broke Girls. “Then the next day I got this call to do this show. So it felt like I wished for something and I got it. It just felt like a meant-to-be thing,” she said.
As for being cast alongside Allen, Dennings couldn’t have been more excited. “He’s a big part of my consciousness growing up, so it was very surreal to work with him, but in a great way because he’s a very kind person,” she revealed.
Shifting Gears, Wednesdays, 8/7c, ABC
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
