Shifting Gears Showrunner Confirms Important Character Introduction & Teases “Antagonistic Relationship” With Tim Allen’s Matt

Warning: SPOILERS for the pilot of Shifting Gears.

Shifting Gears premiered January 8 on ABC and can drop new episodes each Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. The present is led and government produced by sitcom legend, Tim Allen, who performs the “cussed, widowed proprietor of a traditional automobile restoration store.” Nonetheless, the official synopsis teases that “when Matt’s estranged daughter and her youngsters transfer into his home, the true restoration begins.”

Along with Allen, Shifting Gears stars Kat Dennings as Riley, Seann William Scott as Gabriel, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Sew, Maxwell Simkins as Carter, and Barrett Margolis as Georgia. The pilot sees Matt and Riley have a heart-to-heart as they open up concerning the lack of their member of the family. Their emotional dialog serves as a jumping-off level for the sequence, with the father-daughter duo deciding to compromise and work alongside each other.

ScreenRant interviews showrunner Michelle Nader about what drew her to Shifting Gears, Tim Allen and Kat Dennings’ familial chemistry, and the upcoming introduction of Jimmy.

Dennings’ Historical past With Nader Helped Form Her Shifting Gears Character

“I do know her voice, and so I may plug into one thing and have a shorthand for it stepping into.”

ScreenRant: Because you got here on board after the pilot was written, what drew you to Shifting Gears?

Michelle Nader: I watched the pilot. I’ll preface it by saying I like Kat Dennings. I’m clearly destined to work together with her as a result of we proceed to work collectively, and why would I work with anybody else? However that apart, I noticed the pilot, and I noticed the chemistry between Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, and I believed, “That is the particular ingredient in a present that would run a extremely very long time.”

That dynamic and their relationship was magical. It resonated with me as actual, and so I believed I may do that. I’d solely wish to do one thing that I knew I may do. And clearly, I at all times wish to work with Kat, nevertheless it was that. The chemistry of these two made me know that this was one thing that I ought to do and will do.

As you mentioned, you’ve got labored with Kat Dennings earlier than, so did having that historical past form her character going ahead?

Michelle Nader: Yeah, I feel so. I feel that I do know what Kat is nice at, which is lots of stuff. Anyone may write for Kat as a result of she’s so good. However I feel that I do know her voice, and so I may plug into one thing and have a shorthand for it stepping into, although I hadn’t accomplished the pilot. I feel that helped us when it comes to simply dashing to a spot the place we have been dialed into the character earlier than it takes lots of first-season exhibits.

Matt And Riley’s Emotional Scene In The Shifting Gears Pilot Was Nader’s “North Star”

“That is one of many scenes that I noticed that made me know that this was one thing that I wished to be part of.”

One in every of my favourite elements of the present is that it takes place in a automobile restoration store. What does that setting supply from a storytelling perspective?

Michelle Nader: I like vehicles, and my dad used to promote used vehicles, after which he manufactured brakes. I used to be robotically simply drawn to the good automobile as a result of Tim Allen has an unimaginable fleet of his personal vehicles. We use lots of these vehicles within the present. However thematically, the present is about Matt Parker restoring traditional vehicles and that metaphor is so excellent for his or her relationship being restored. It is concerning the restoration of a household in addition to his restoring vehicles.

And to increase that metaphor, when it comes to sitcoms, what he does in his store is RestoMod, which is restoring and modernizing vehicles, and that is what we wished to do with the sitcom, principally. Restoring and modernizing a traditional kind and to make it run as quick as we are able to in 2024. I feel that folks type of went away from sitcoms as a result of it wasn’t the cool kind anymore, however I feel it may be. I feel it has so many qualities that folks actually reply to and resonate with.

The premise of the present relies round a loss, and there are some heavy moments. I believed you probably did an exquisite job balancing that with the comedic side, so within the strategy of discovering the right method, have been there occasions while you thought, “We’re not addressing their grief sufficient,” or “We’re leaning too closely into it”?

Michelle Nader: I like these emotional moments on tv, particularly when you need to code-switch actually shortly from comedy to actually deep emotion. Sitcoms are theater at some stage, and also you’re simply these characters of their uncooked state. That is the concept. And I feel that that is one other factor that drew me. Exploring grief in a sitcom is de facto like, “Wow, can we try this?” And Tim is such actor.

I maintain saying that he’s exhibiting all these completely different feelings on this present that I feel are actually stunning. Like that final scene within the pilot with the flour sifter, and dropping his spouse, however then gaining his daughter again. He is on this actually susceptible place, which I feel can be a completely different Tim Allen character than we have seen earlier than.

Talking of that scene between them, it was a really emotional second. Are you able to discuss concerning the significance of that?

Michelle Nader: That is one of many scenes that I noticed that made me know that this was one thing that I wished to be part of as a result of their chemistry was so good, and it felt so actual. What I am instructed is that that was actual. There have been actual tears there. I’ve mentioned this to Tim—that was the north star for me going ahead, which is, “Allow us to be capable of get to these moments.” Not each present, however that it is attainable that we may go there and be that actual and that emotional.

Viewers Will Meet Riley’s Ex In Shifting Gears Season 1

“He and Matt have a really antagonistic relationship, as you may think about, and it is extremely humorous.”

Matt and Riley have very completely different opinions on parenting simply within the first episode. How a lot is that going to play into this relationship they’re making an attempt to fix because the season goes on?

Michelle Nader: That battle is the bread and butter of the present—the generational variations of their views. And it occurs to be true for lots of households that they’re grappling with that too. Their mother and father have a sure mind-set, and so they have a sure mind-set.

And the attention-grabbing factor to me is that, when you need to be a mum or dad and a toddler in the identical home, and that is Riley’s character, I feel that that can be a enjoyable exploration. What’s juicy in that is that they need to discover a compromise. That is what I feel persons are in their very own lives, and folks have been so polarized in the previous few years. This concept of restoring a household is attention-grabbing to us.

We’ve heard quite a bit about Jimmy. It’s early on, however given that he’s Carter and Georgia’s father, is that somebody that we’ll meet down the road?

Michelle Nader: Sure. We truly did the Jimmy present final evening. It is known as “Jimmy,” and he comes again to attempt to win his household again. He and Matt have a really antagonistic relationship, as you may think about, and it is extremely humorous, however to what our level is when it comes to the emotion of it, they’ve a extremely nice scene wherein they’ve an actual dialog about their historical past, and it will get emotional. So it is nice. I feel that Lucas Neff, who performs Jimmy, did a terrific job. It is a troublesome character to play as a result of nobody likes this man, however he did such a terrific job, and I feel we’ll see him once more.

About Shifting Gears Season 1

Created by Mike Scully And Julie Thacker-Scully

Shifting Gears stars Tim Allen as Matt, a cussed, widowed proprietor of a traditional automobile restoration store. The actual restoration begins, nonetheless, when Matt’s estranged daughter Riley (Kat Dennings) and her youngsters transfer into his home. The present additionally stars Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Sean William Scott, Maxwell Simkins, and Barrett Margolis.

Take a look at our different interviews with the Shifting Gears forged:

Shifting Gears airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Matt, a widowed and cussed proprietor of a traditional automobile restoration store, has his life turned the wrong way up when his estranged daughter, Riley, and her teenage kids transfer in with him.

Launch Date

January 8, 2025

Character(s)

Matt
, Riley
, Ed
, Carter
, Georgia

Seasons

1

TMDB Person Score

0
.0

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