Shark Tank‘s Lori Greiner used her Shifting Gears cameo as a chance to flirt with Tim Allen.
During the Wednesday, October 15, episode of the hit ABC series, Georgia (Barrett Margolis) found a way to contact Greiner, 55, to promote mom Riley’s (Kat Dennings) new coffee cart. Greiner showed up to support, which is where she met Matt (Allen).
“Now that is a daddy I might like to scrub,” she quipped while shaking Matt’s hand. Eve (Jenna Elfman), meanwhile, jumped in to introduce herself as Matt’s girlfriend.
Greiner is one of several new faces who made appearances on season 2 of Shifting Gears. Lilly Singh, Gabriel Iglesias, Mookie Betts and Home Improvement alums Patricia Richardson, Debbe Dunning and Richard Karn appeared on the sitcom earlier this month.
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Shifting Gears follows Matt and his estranged daughter, Riley, as they find themselves living together and working to repair their relationship after the loss of their matriarch.
“From the very beginning, [the creative team has said] that we’ve never seen Tim Allen in a sitcom with a romantic interest. And I said, ‘Well, I’ve just lost my wife, so I don’t see it.’ So I love where we are,” Allen exclusively told Us Weekly in January. “I said, ‘If it happens over time and happens organically with two people that do not get along, then it is OK.’ I just am really cautious about this. I just want it to happen where it’s organic and proper.”
In addition to Allen, 72, and Dennings, 39, Shifting Gears also stars Seann William Scott, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Margolis.
“[Matt’s] more like me. I’m more of an artist. I was a design student and a philosopher and my standup comedy is really about messing with people in a good way,” Allen shared with Us. “I came from a huge family run by women. So my perspective is very different about men. I don’t think we run things. So I want this to be that guy. He’s not a ‘man’s man’ in that term, and he wasn’t trying to be anything but what he does.”
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The actor noted that Matt is “not like the other guys” he’s played before.
“This is a new character and it’s much closer to [who I am]. I’ve been through grief in my life with losing my father,” he added. “I’ve been blessed to be a comedian and so that’s who this [character] is. If I did it again, I wanted to get as much closer to the [man] that I am.”
Dennings, meanwhile, praised her and Allen’s “instant” connection as costars.
“For some reason it worked pretty immediately — maybe because I’ve grown up watching him for so much of my life, but it just worked. It felt very organic,” she recalled to Us that same month. “And as [filming has] progressed, our scenes are so funny, if I do say so myself. The arguments are my favorite scenes to play because I have no fear. There’s no fear for either of us. We just absolutely go for it, and it’s so much fun.”
At the time, Dennings couldn’t help but praise the “magical situation,” adding, “I was having a talk with a friend and I wasn’t sure what to do next. She was like, ‘Well, if you could just describe your dream project, what would it be?’ I was like, ‘I’d love to do a sitcom again.’ I just described this exact scenario. Then the next day, I got the call about this.”
Dennings concluded: “It was shocking. I’m still weirded out about it because I feel like I wished for it and there it was. So that is how it happened. And I grew up watching [Tim’s show] Home Improvement, so I was very excited about the idea of being his daughter. It’s just been so fantastic and I feel very lucky.”
Shifting Gears airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
