[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Shifting Gears.]

Summary

Tim Allen’s character in ‘Shifting Gears’ reflects his true self as a comedian, designer, and philosopher dealing with personal struggles.

The show’s cast, including Kat Dennings and Seann William Scott, quickly formed strong chemistry on set, creating a real and entertaining dynamic.

Tim Allen has begun recording for ‘Toy Story 5’ and praises the clever story, expressing gratitude for voicing Buzz Lightyear.

The ABC sitcom Shifting Gears is about Matt (Tim Allen), the widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop who suddenly has his estranged daughter Riley (Kat Dennings) step back into his life and home with her two kids. While the father and daughter might not ever see eye-to-eye on things, they do clearly love each other and seem willing to give each other a chance to rebuild their family and find their way together.
During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Allen, who’s also an executive producer on the series, talked about how he personally identifies with his latest role, why this character is different from his previous ones, that many of the cars he’s built have ended up on the show, how quickly the cast chemistry came together, and the importance of laughter. He also talked about his own excitement over how Toy Story 5 is coming along, and that he feels blessed to voice Buzz Lightyear.
Tim Allen Is Bringing a Lot of Himself to ‘Shifting Gears’

Image via ABC

Collider: You’ve played these iconic characters, from Santa Claus to Buzz Lightyear to your characters in Home Improvement and Last Man Standing. Where does this guy in Shifting Gears fit in for you? Does he feel like someone that you think you’ll be adding to that list of iconic characters?
TIM ALLEN: In a very honest exposure, this is getting closer and closer to the creator of all of these. I’m none of these characters. Whenever I’m out in public, it’s either Tool Man or it’s Buzz Lightyear, or this time of year, it’s Santa Claus, and all these characters are based on an expression of a guy who grew up, lost his dad – that’s me – had disgust for the world because my father was taken from me, and never really dealt with it. And then, I went to college, became a designer and a philosopher. I loved design, I loved creating, I loved photography, I loved lighting, I loved philosophy, and I loved all the arts. My comedy, for 40 years on stage has always been as a little bit of a pissant. I swear a lot, as my wife says. I’m not dark. I’m dark to the point where I’m funny. Humor has saved my life so many times, emotionally, because I laugh at it. I’ve laughed at terrible things that have happened to me because we’ve got no choice. We’ve got a short amount of time.
So, what we’re getting in all these characters is that it’s manifesting. This guy is really close to who I am – the authentic comedian, designer, philosopher. He’s not Tim Taylor. He doesn’t blow stuff up, he fixes stuff. He’s not Mike Baxter, selling outdoor stuff. He’s a designer and maybe more of an artist than we’re used to. You’ll find out more and more about this guy. He’s not a particularly good dad. The other guys were pretty good dads. He screwed things up with Kat Dennings character – great casting there. He’s never really been comfortable with this automotive thing because it was his dad’s company. He was on his way to design school and his dad had a heart attack, so he had to come back and help take over the company. He never finished college as a designer.

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The series stars Kat Dennings and Seann William Scott.

Instead, this is his life. He has two kids, one in the Navy, and then Kat Dennings, his younger daughter with two grandkids. Her life is falling apart. She left high school pregnant, and they never got along. She’s back here, and he will not throw her out. And his wife just passed away. It’s a very layered guy. I’ve never done this. I don’t think of myself as an artist, although I do a lot of graphics, I paint, I do photography, I build stuff, I sculpt. I don’t even realize I do all that stuff because no one’s ever seen it. I’ve just got weird art pieces all around because it’s not about showing it, it’s about doing it. Lately, I’ve got a shop filled with weird cars that I built, and now I get to express that. Most of my good ones are on the show.
Tim Allen Is Shocked at How Much Fun He’s Already Having With His ‘Shifting Gears’ Cast

With this show, you are surrounded by actors who know comedy, from Kat Dennings to Seann William Scott to Darryl “Chill” Mitchell. What is the best part about doing a comedy series, working with funny people, and having a live audience there reacting to it all?
ALLEN: Seann has never done anything like this, and he’s just bright and shiny. With Kat and I, it’s exactly like the characters we’re playing. When we get active in the scenes, it comes alive. It’s like we’ve been doing this for years. It’s real. Seann has never done a live show. Daryl has done bits and pieces, but not like this. Daryl and I worked on Galaxy Quest, and we’re doing the same bits that caused the late, lovely Alan Rickman to constantly tell us, “Could you two just shut up and do the scene?!” He eventually learned to love both of us, but we were just BS-ing the entire time, and it’s the same thing here. Five episodes in, and it was like this cast had been doing this for 10 years. I’m shocked at how we’re working together and how much fun we’re having entertaining everybody.

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Dennings stars in ‘Shifting Gears’ alongside sitcom legend Tim Allen.

Tim Allen Wants To Reassure Everyone That ‘Toy Story 5’ Is Going To Be Really Good

Image via Walt Disney Studios

We know that we’re getting a Toy Story 5 in 2026. Have you started recording that yet?
ALLEN: Well, I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. Yes, I just did the first five-hour session for Buzz. It’s really, really weird to get back in it. I can’t tell you anything. It’s a very, very clever story. Do you wanna do five of these? I don’t really believe it’s about the money. I’m sure they want it to be a success, but that’s not why they did it. Had they not come up with a brilliant script, they wouldn’t have done it, and they wouldn’t have called me and Tom [Hanks]. It’s really clever. It was really a struggle to get, and then maybe two hours in, I was doing Buzz. I’m so blessed to be Buzz Lightyear, to be honest. It’s gonna be fun. I think we’re a year out. I’ve gotten up to the third act. We’ll do the third act. And then, we’ll go back and clean it. And then, I’ll do it about five more times. It’s a really good story, guys. It’s really good.

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The movie opens in June 2026.

Do you have a personal favorite of the films, or is it always the one you’re doing when you’re doing it?
ALLEN: With Toy Story 4, when I said, “To infinity,” and Tom said, “And beyond,” was so emotional for the two of us. We’re real close friends, and I loved that. With Toy Story 2 and 3, I’m on a bridge. There’s nothing like Toy Story 1, though. That was such an amazing experience. It’s hard to say. I’d probably give it to Toy Story 3. And then, Galaxy Quest is one of my favorite experiences of anything I’ve ever done because all those cast members, we’re good friends still and there are so many Galaxy Quest fans still around.

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Release Date

January 8, 2025

Cast

Tim Allen
, Kat Dennings
, Daryl Mitchell
, Maxwell Simkins
, Barrett Margolis

Main Genre

Comedy

Seasons

1

Shifting Gears airs on ABC and is available to stream on Hulu. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Hulu