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SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details from the season one finale of Shifting Gears on ABC.
The multi-camera comedy about widower (Tim Allen) who allows his daughter (Kat Dennings) and grandkids to move in wrapped its 10-season first season March 19. Here, Dennings talks about working with the sitcom veteran, what it’s been like to return in front of a studio audience, and what fans could expect if the show is renewed for a second season.
DEADLINE Before we get into the finale, I’m not sure you saw but The Wall Street Journal suggests that Shifting Gears is a red state show. What do you think?
KAT DENNINGS No, I wouldn’t agree with that. I can understand why, because there’s a conservative viewpoint from Tim’s character, but I think the fun of the show is the dynamic between Tim’s character and my character because they have completely opposing viewpoints. It’s about how they navigate that in their relationship. That’s kind of where the core of the comedy comes from.
DEADLINE Do you talk politics much? It is fertile ground, especially nowadays.
DENNINGS There are some little jokes here and there. As you said, it’s kind of a timely situation because there is always a family member or a family with opposing viewpoints. When you love someone, that can be a very difficult dynamic. So it’s that classic Thanksgiving dinner quandary where you’re like, ‘okay, we just have to be civil to each other for two hours and not talk about it.’ That’s kind of the comedy center of this show, when completely opposite viewpoints are living together in the same house and how to make that work. I think Tim’s portrayal is very sensitive to that, and he [the actor, who is a conservative] is a very open, sensitive person, and he doesn’t discuss this stuff on set. I think he knows that it’s best. Everyone at work wants to maintain a professional and comfortable environment, so that stuff is really left at the door, and the writers take advantage of the different styles to make a show.
DEADLINE What’s it been like for you, being back in the multi-cam universe?
DENNINGS Oh, it’s been really fun and kind of a throwback because I hadn’t done a sitcom since 2 Broke Girls ended. I had done it for so many years that I was like, okay, I definitely don’t want to do a sitcom again. I wanted to do something different. And then I found myself missing the format. Now that I’m older, I really enjoy that more and I found myself really missing it. This has really been a nice and sweet return to that.
DEADLINE Beth Behrs generated a lot of attention with her Instagram post last week about how she was grateful that CBS was giving The Neighborhood a chance to say goodbye when that opportunity wasn’t afforded 2 Broke Girls.
DENNINGS We were so sad because we did not get to resolve it, and that season ended on a crazy cliffhanger. The people who enjoyed that show were cheated out of a conclusion. But it’s so classic with TV. Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll do a Will & Grace and we’ll bring it back. I would be open to that. We’d be old. We’d be like two 60-year-olds, but not the ’60s old. It would be different. There’d be a time jump.
DEADLINE How was it for you finding a groove with Tim?
DENNINGS I had no idea what I was walking into because you also just never know how people really are. But I was so pleasantly surprised with his behavior toward me. He’s been so open and caring and just very accepting, and he really wants this to feel good for everyone. What’s nice, too, is that so much of the crew came with him from Last Man Standing, and some people are even from Home Improvement. So there are crew members that have been working with him for 25 years, which is really rare. My makeup artist met her husband on the pilot of Home Improvement, and he’s the sound guy, so they’re both here on our show. They’re all very loyal and he treats the crew really well, and he treats us really well, and he loves making sitcoms. This guy is born for this, and it’s really fun to watch someone be in their element like that. And his fans love him. The audiences we’ve had on Shifting Gears I’ve never experienced anything before. I know that they’re there to see Tim, and that’s the beauty of the whole thing. They are so raucous. They have to turn down the volume of the audience in these edits because they’re screaming and laughing and it’s almost like a sporting event. It’s really something. I wasn’t used to it on 2 Broke Girls. We had a lot of variables with the audience. Sometimes it would be amazing and sometimes it would be completely silent, crickets really. So this has been a real treat.
DEADLINE The finale ends on a cliffhanger, with Sean Williams Scott’s character professing his affection to your character, Riley. Have you heard anything yet about a pickup?
DENNINGS No, we haven’t. Of course we’re all on pins and needles about it but hopefully we will. You just never know with TV, but we’ve gotten such great numbers and I’ve heard that people are happy. So who knows? I’m a very negative person, so I never expect anything to happen.
DEADLINE Did you know at the beginning of the season that it was going to end this way, that you weren’t going to move back in with your husband?
DENNINGS No, I didn’t. I think they had been tossing a few ideas around. In the finale, she finally realizes that they have both just grown apart. She’s a completely different person. She wants different things. So she does ask for the divorce, and that was a really amazing moment that they came up with because they didn’t make Lucas Neff’s character Jimmy into a villain. He’s still sweet, and we can see why she fell for him in the first place.
DEADLINE There was a great line in the finale where Tim says, “this is the first time I’ve really enjoyed kids in the house.” Obviously it’s the conceit of the show that you’re living with your dad, but you’re also a 34-year-old woman living with her dad. You’ve got to keep that conceit to keep the show going. Can you imagine this going for a fifth season and she’s still there?
DENNINGS You know what? I think the beauty of this is that I can conceive it. She might end up there for five seasons or maybe in season three she does move out. Who knows though? There’s also her brother, Sam, who we’ve never seen before. He’s in the military who will come in hopefully in future seasons. And then there’s that whole dynamic with who he is. Where’s he going to live? So there could be just unlimited ways to go with this. I’m really looking forward to that and really hope so much that we get a season two.
