Shifting Gears wouldn’t be the hit that it is without Tim Allen‘s feedback — but what feedback has the lead had about the show?
Showrunner Michelle Nader exclusively told Us Weekly about collaborating with Allen, 72, sharing earlier this month, “It’s a sense of authenticity to his character and who Tim is too. We’re very different, obviously. And we come at it from male and female perspectives.”
Nader noted that Allen has helped shape the story.
“Believe me, we go back and [forth] with him and I. We definitely go back and forth on things because we both have strong opinions about stuff,” she added. “Ultimately, Tim has to play it right, so he has to be comfortable.”
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Shifting Gears, which premiered in January 2025, follows Matt (Allen) and his estranged daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings), as they find themselves living together and working to repair their relationship after the loss of their matriarch.
“Tim trusts me and then I trust him. He was the one that said, ‘I wouldn’t want to be in a long-distance relationship because I wouldn’t at my age want to do that,’” Nader told Us about a season 2 story line with Matt and girlfriend Eve (Jenna Elfman). “I didn’t understand, but I was like, ‘OK, alright.’ Then we figured out how to make that poignant, and I think it worked.”
Despite briefly showing Elfman, 54, leaving the show, Nader confirmed it was always the plan to bring Eve back.
“Sometimes in life — especially as you get older — things are more complicated than they are when in your 20s,” Nader continued. “I always wanted to respect the fact that Matt was this guy who lost his wife. He was a widower and he would still visit her. I wanted to give him the right kind of respect and he wasn’t really ready to really fully commit.”
It wasn’t until Elfman’s character was introduced that the show evolved.
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“Let’s just talk about that magical person. She was the right person,” Nader shared. “That’s the thing about sitcoms is inner emotions that everybody thinks are really heightened. But they’re really heightened in real moments of reality — or else they don’t resonate.”
Allen, meanwhile, opened up about shaping the show. “[Matt’s] more like me. I’m more of an artist. I was a design student and a philosopher, and my stand-up comedy is really about messing with people in a good way,” he shared with Us in January 2025. “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.”
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 at the time. “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.”
Shifting Gears is currently streaming on Hulu.
