Kat Dennings may have taken a hard right turn, but Tim Allen hasn’t budged an inch.
In their new comedy, “Shifting Gears,” he’s the same character we discovered in “Home Improvement” and “Last Man Standing.”
She’s now the mother of teenagers who has to move in with her father (Allen) when she divorces her husband, a bass player dad didn’t like.
Naturally, there’s friction but this time Allen gets to weigh in on relationships, pickleball, Ozempic and educational “accommodations.”
He’s a curmudgeon; she’s in need of help. “I’m broke and I have nowhere else to go,” Dennings’ Riley admits. Although, “there was a doomsday cult I had my eye on.”
It’s not difficult to see where this is headed. Allen will continue to represent the views of the right; Dennings with plant a flag for the left.
The one who surprises is Maxwell Simpkins, who plays Dennings’ anxiety-ridden son, Carter. He takes Ubers to school, doesn’t have an interest in cars (his grandfather’s passion) and can’t understand what’s wrong with putting grandpa’s “cheat” sheet in his pocket before a test. Simpkins has a low-key approach to the character that works nicely with Allen’s rants.
Barrett Margolis is fun, too, as his sister.
Seann William Scott and Daryl Mitchell, as two who work in Allen’s car restoration shop, are question marks. They get marginal time in the first two episodes and don’t really fall anywhere on the Allen/Dennings spectrum. While Scott seems like a likely match for Dennings, an early episode finds her setting him up with a friend.
That soon-to-be ex-husband (who played in bands that went from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids, then back to Des Moines) could be a pivotal character for the series. Cast right, he could be the Fonzie for a comedy that dwells a little too much on current events and Allen’s late wife.
Brenda Song, who plays the assistant principal at Carter’s school, has a quirky vibe that suggests “English Teacher.” She idolized Riley in high school and now considers life with “four frozen egg babies.” She’s funny in an unexpected way and should become a regular.
Allen, however, tends to go this one alone, ranting about everything the others are doing. While he has a new hairdo this time out (does he look like Martin Short or Joe Biden?), he’s not given anyone to second his motions.
Created by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully, “Shifting Gears” plays into the hands of audiences who loved its two stars. Neither goes too far afield from the personalities they helped create.
While Dennings often seems like she’s on an uphill climb, Allen seems to be idling. Had he been cast as the liberal (to a more conservative daughter), “Shifting Gears” might have attracted a new audience.
Now, it’s stuck in second, looking for a push. Some of those unseen characters could provide it. (Imagine if his ex-son-in-law held similar beliefs. That could be the springboard for something different.)
As is, “Shifting Gears” is one of those CBS-lite shows (it even uses the phrase "Poppa's house") that should fit in a lineup that coasts on viewers who don’t want to change channels.
"Shifting Gears" airs on ABC.
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