Tim Allen Officially Returning to ABC for New Sitcom ‘Shifting Gears’

Tim Allen is officially coming back to ABC. After it was announced earlier this year that the actor was working on a new sitcom pilot for the network, Shifting Gears has been ordered to series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series follows a widower and owner of a classic car restoration business whose adult daughter and teenage kids move in with him. Kat Dennings, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins, and Barrett Margolis also star.

Shifting Gears marks Allen’s third sitcom on ABC, following Home Improvement in the ’90s and Last Man Standing in the ’10s. The latter of which moved to Fox for the final three seasons, so it’s not surprising that the network made sure that Allen is staying with them. It’s not all good news with the series order, however. After writing and serving as showrunners for the pilot, Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully have exited but will be credited as executive producers on the first episode. A replacement has not been announced.

As of now, a premiere date has not been announced, but Shifting Gears is being developed for the 2024-25 season. More information should be released soon, especially now that the show has been picked up. It will be exciting to see Allen returning to his home network, and how Shifting Gears compares to Home Improvement and Last Man Standing.

Meanwhile, there is one other show of Tim Allen’s that has yet to have any sort of recent news. After premiering Season 2 last winter, Disney+’s The Santa Clauses remains in limbo. It has yet to be renewed for Season 3 nor canceled after two seasons. With Allen putting most of his focus on Shifting Gears in the near future, it doesn’t look good for The Santa Clause sequel series. That doesn’t mean that The Santa Clauses is doomed, but it could be a bit harder to film.

Allen serves as executive producer alongside Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina, and John Pasquin, who directed the pilot. 20th Television produces Shifting Gears, which will be coming soon to ABC. More information on the series should be released soon, but the wait will surely be worth it.