Tim Allen‘s sitcom wife Nancy Travis made an appearance on his ABC series Shifting Gears — but what about his Last Man Standing daughters?
“Oh, of course. I have no doubt [about that]. Tim is nothing if not loyal. So it was great to walk on that set and see most of the crew was from Last Man Standing,” Travis, 63, exclusively told Us Weekly about her reunion with Allen. “The director John Pasquin did so many episodes of Last Man Standing and is a personal friend. It was just so great to feel this sense of reunion.”
Travis didn’t rule out more Last Man Standing cameos on Shifting Gears, adding, “I wouldn’t be surprised if everybody from Last Man Standing shows up on Shifting Gears in one way or another. If Tim has his way, he’ll make sure that everybody from [costar Kat Dennings‘] 2 Broke Girls comes on too.”
Before playing Matt on Last Man Standing, Allen, 71, was known for playing Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, which ran from 1991 to 1999. He moved on to Last Man Standing, where he played Mike for nine seasons on ABC. Last Man Standing paved the way for Allen to reunite with his Home Improvement costars Patricia Richardson and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who played his onscreen wife and son, respectively.
‘Last Man Standing’ Cast: Where Are They Now?
In addition to Thomas, Taran Noah Smith and Zachery Ty Bryan brought the rest of Allen’s onscreen sons to life. Allen spoke to Us about getting to spend time with Thomas when he visited the set of Shifting Gears.
“Everything is a possibility,” he shared last month. “He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set. He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on Home Improvement. All of these are my kids and I’m kind of sick about this.”
Last Man Standing was more unique because of the show’s multiple recasting. Alexandra Krosney and Amanda Fuller played the role of the oldest Baxter sister, Kristin, while Molly Ephraim and Molly McCook were both middle child Mandy. Kaitlyn Dever was the only actress who portrayed Eve while Evan and Luke Kruntchev, Flynn Morrison and Jet Jurgensmeyer all played Kristin’s son Boyd. (Kristin’s husband, Ryan, was also recast after Nick Jonas‘ one-episode stint turned into a multi-season arc with Jordan Masterson at the helm.)
Travis is the first of Allen’s Last Man Standing costars to join him on Shifting Gears.
Most Memorable TV Siblings Through the Years
“You wonder how Nancy Travis is going to come back into this Shifting Gears world and I think it’s a unique and clever way that they’ve engineered this,” she noted to Us. “I will say — even on Last Man Standing — it’s almost like a trademark of Tim’s shows where there are winks. Because the people that have followed his career from Home Improvement, his stand-up comedy, Last Man Standing and now Shifting Gears, they know the details of these stories and these characters so deeply.”
Travis continued: “They’re looking for a little inside joke or nod. There were many of them on Last Man Standing so I knew there would be something. I just didn’t know where it would come or how it would come. Viewers will be looking for it too so it is a nice little bow they put on our scenes together.”
While Travis enjoyed sharing the screen with Allen again, she doesn’t see herself reprising her role as his wife.
‘Home Improvement’ Cast: Where Are They Now?
“It was really fun to be able to just come in and have a whole wealth of knowledge and rapport working with Tim. In terms of comedic rhythm, knowing how to set up a joke and how to tell a story together, it was great to be able to take that and apply it to Charlotte,” she said. “I do enjoy working with him but I think that it’s fun to explore new and different relationships between characters. It is very meta — maybe too meta.”
Travis was thrilled with how Shifting Gears was able to incorporate her on the show.
“I really like what they created, which is a soulmate friend,” she added. “Maybe it’s like the ghost of his ex-wife — Vanessa — who comes in the spirit of somebody else. But I like the nuances of what they created with this different relationship.”
Shifting Gears airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
