Tim Allen and Kat Dennings have a fight
Tim Allen and Kat Dennings are both network sitcom royalty: he of “Home Improvement,” she of the surprisingly long-lasting “2 Broke Girls.” (It’s hardly a classic, but that show made it to 138 episodes. That’s well within the syndication zone!) With the sitcom “Shifting Gears,” a midseason debut that brings Allen back to ABC primetime, the two actors combine their forces to form a dynasty and stars a father and daughter who are reunited after more than ten years of estrangement. Upon arrival, both receive rapturous applause from the multi-camera audience in the studio. Most new shows have to sell themselves to a prospective audience; “Shifting Gears” has a significant head start to compensate for its early stumbles.
Allen – also executive producer – stars as Matt, the owner of a classic car restoration shop. (Dennings also produces.) This setting has proven potential as a workplace comedy, as evidenced by the success of Shane Gillis’ “Tires” on Netflix. But the two episodes of “Shifting Gears” shown for critics instead focus heavily on family dynamics. When Dennings’ Riley pulls up in Matt’s stolen GTO with her two kids in tow, it’s to ask for a place to stay after her divorce. A classic odd couple scenario arises, except these roommates have shared emotional baggage for decades.
Created by husband-and-wife team Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully (“The Simpsons”) and run by Michelle Nader (reunited with Dennings after a stint on “2 Broke Girls”), “Shifting Gears” can be clumsy with its exposition. (Scully and Thacker Scully left the show before the series order.) “When I build things, it’s built to last,” Matt bellows. “Except for our relationship!” Riley answers. This lack of subtlety extends to obvious attempts at intergenerational humor. Riley’s young son Carter (Maxwell Simkins) decides to change Matt’s Instagram presence, while Matt’s granddaughter Georgia (Barrett Margolis) announces her intention to become a billionaire, warning that her men will not be comfortable with a woman who deserves them more. .
As that anecdote suggests, Matt shares Allen’s conservatism, albeit in a cuddlier version with the edges sanded off. He idolizes Reagan, but makes no mention of the current president-elect, even when tariffs are in the news; Riley defends Nancy Pelosi, although a woman who dropped out of college to run off with a bass player seems more like the Bernie type. Matt is meant to be a lovable idiot, prone to childish rants about school accommodations that quickly culminate in mutual understanding.
Matt’s irritability is more convincing in the context of his relationship with Riley, a case of two stubborn people recently losing their old buffer in Matt’s late wife. There’s a bit of bittersweet slapstick in the premiere where Matt, surprised by Riley’s display of vulnerability, awkwardly pats her foot. The good news is that there’s a lot more in store for “Shifting Gears” in this regard: We still haven’t met Riley’s brother, who could provide more context about her childhood, or the ex-husband, with whom she will probably be in a relationship. to co-parent.
In the meantime, “Shifting Gears” could integrate Matt’s personal and professional spheres more smoothly. (Riley has vague ambitions to become a lawyer, but it’s Matt’s interests that define the show from its title.) There’s a forced-feeling B-plot in the second episode in which Riley tries to lure Matt’s employee Gabriel (Seann William Scott) into to lure the trap. ) with her high school classmate Caitlyn (Brenda Song), an arc that shows the seams of the ensemble even as it clearly buys time for a lengthy Will They Not between Gabriel and Riley. ‘Shifting Gears’ is about a family stitching itself back together. Perhaps it is fitting that it does not yet feel like a coherent whole.
“Shifting Gears” premieres January 8 at 8pm ET on ABC, with remaining episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays.
