ABC has greenlit the multi-camera comedy “Shifting Gears” starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, Variety has learned.
The show was originally ordered to pilot at ABC back in March. However, the show is undergoing some changes both in front of and behind the camera. Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully — who were originally announced as writers and executive producers on “Shifting Gears — have exited the series. They will be credited as executive producers on the pilot episode. The search is now on for a new showrunner.
In addition, Froy Gutierrez had originally been cast in the role of Nick in the pilot, but that role will now be recast as the show goes to series.
The official logline for the series states that Allen stars as Matt, “the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter (Dennings) and her teenage kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.”
The cast also includes Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter, and Barrett Margolis as Georgia.
Allen serves as an executive producer in the series along with Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina and John Pasquin. Pasquin also directed the pilot. As mentioned above, Scully and Thacker Scully are executive producers on the pilot episode. Dennings is a producer. 20th Television is the studio.
Allen previously starred in the ABC and Disney mutli-cam hit “Home Improvement” from 1991-1999. He then returned to the network with the comedy series “Last Man Standing,” which aired for six seasons at ABC and another three at Fox.
As it stands, ABC currently has few scripted comedies on its roster. The hit single-cam show “Abbott Elementary” is due back for its fourth season on Oct. 9, while the seventh and final season of “The Conners” is expected to bow at midseason.
