Fan-Favorite Tim Allen Praised By His ‘Shifting Gears’ Co-Star Kat Dennings – ‘He’s A Very Kind Person’

Tim Allen of Home Improvement and Last Man Standing fame is currently starring on the new ABC sitcom Shifting Gears with the former 2 Broke Girls star Kat Dennings. Though Dennings has been working in TV for years, she’s speaking out in a new interview to praise Allen as being her “favorite” TV dad!

Dennings Praises Allen

“Tim Allen, I will say, is my favorite TV dad of all time. It’s been a real joy doing this show,” Dennings, 38, told People Magazine. Certainly, there are millions of Tim Allen fans who agree!

Dennings also revealed that the Shifting Gears crew has stuck with Allen, 71, through his previous two sitcoms – Home Improvement aired from 1991 until 1999, and Last Man Standing was on from 2011 to 2021.

Clearly, Allen is doing something right if the same crew sticks with him for decades.

Dennings made largely the same point, saying, “They followed him through all of his projects, which I think is a real testament to him as a person.”

On Shifting Gears, Allen and Dennings play a widowed father Matt and his estranged daughter Riley, who find themselves having to move back in together as they repair their relationship. Dennings made it clear that she and Allen have had a blast filming this sitcom.

“We have a very funny banter,” Dennings said of herself and Allen. “We really enjoy these scenes where we’re arguing. It’s really fun.”

Check out a trailer for Shifting Gears in the video below.

Related: Tim Allen, 71, Scores Hilarious New Sitcom ‘Shifting Gears’ – Here’s A First Look

Dennings Needed This Sitcom

Dennings then said that before she was cast on Shifting Gears, she was in a “dark, sad moment in time” and not sure what to do next.

“I was like, ‘God, I don’t know what I want to do. I am just feeling so crazy,'” she recalled.

It was only when a friend asked Dennings what her “dream job” is that she realized she wanted to do another multi-camera sitcom.

“Then the next day I got this call to do this show. So it felt like I wished for something and I got it. It just felt like a meant to be thing,” she continued.

Dennings also “grew up watching Home Improvement,” so starring with a “cultural mainstay” like Allen on a sitcom was an incredible opportunity for her.

“He’s Santa Claus [in The Santa Clause films] and Buzz Lightyear [in the Toy Story franchise],” she gushed. “He’s a big part of my consciousness growing up, so it was very surreal to work with him, but in a great way because he’s a very kind person.”

Related: Tim Allen Launching TV Comeback As ABC Orders Sitcom Pilot ‘Shifting Gears’

Allen Is ‘Very Excited’ To Be Doing Another Sitcom

As for Allen, he couldn’t be happier to be doing a sitcom again.

“I am very excited,” Allen told Entertainment Tonight last year. “You know, I tried really hard with Home Improvement, and then Last Man Standing. Maybe three’s a charm! Maybe I can finally make a statement with this.”

“It was a big event for me, ’cause I really loved Home Improvement, [so] to do Last Man Standing was a big push, and then I love that family so much,” Allen explained. “But then ABC said, ‘If you come up with an idea,’ and I said, ‘If I did it, it would be this.’ And we came up with this idea, and we’re getting there.”

“I’m very geeked to be given this opportunity,” he concluded with a smile.

Shifting Gears airs Wednesday nights on ABC. If you’re a fan of Allen’s previous sitcoms, you should definitely check it out. You won’t be disappointed!