Tim Allen i Jenna Elfman‘s characters were broken Gear change —But is there any possibility that they can reconcile?
“Hold on, you’ll see it’s not over yet and it’s really a different thing for a comedian to play that,” Allen, 72, teased during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly about his character Matt’s future with Eve (Elfman). “In the show, by design, there’s more drama to add to the comedy. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing.”
The hit ABC series, which returns with new episodes on Wednesday, January 7, will pick up after Eve had a job opportunity that took her away from Matt for months. Despite having a conversation about trying to make things work, Matt ultimately decided it was best for them to split up, for now.
“The reality of the story is that it worked and it was very romantic for the show,” he noted. “Even though they’re not really a couple yet, it was really sad. We were both affected by the writing and hit it off really well.”
Fan-favorite TV couples like 9-1-1’s Buck and Eddie, The Bear’s Sydney and Tracker’s Carmy and Colter and Reenie—or Billie—deserve to finally reunite on screen in 2026. Based on Jeffery Deaver’s novel The Never Game, Tracker has viewers tuning in every week to see their favorite fictional survival roster (…)
Gear change follows father Matt and his estranged daughter Riley (Kat Dennings), as they find themselves living together and working to repair their relationship. It’s the first time Allen has starred in a sitcom where his character is not married. (Allen’s characters in earlier sitcoms home improvement i The last man standing were already in committed relationships when each series began.)
“My preference was not to get into a relationship so quickly,” Allen told Us about playing a widower. “(With Jenna), coincidentally, it really worked out, her and I together. I’ve worked with her before on a movie and I know her and the two characters are so opposite. It didn’t feel like anything was going to happen, certainly from my point of view, because I said I wasn’t really ready for it, personally, on the show.”
Allen was pleasantly surprised by the dynamic between Matt and Eva.
“It just came out. As a result, we really connected on camera,” he recalled. “So I had to kind of compromise and say, ‘This is moving faster than I thought it should.’
After starting his career as a comedian in the 1970s, Allen made his mark in Hollywood as Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on ABC. home improvementwhich won him a Golden Globe, and he later played Mike Baxter The last man standing. On the big screen, Allen voiced Buzz Lightyear Toy Story franchise and brought Santa Claus to life Father Christmas movies
Although Allen’s previous series have often drawn details from his real life, Gear change it was different
“I’m not a widower. That’s the biggest change in this whole script is that when I was approached to do a new show, I wanted to be a guy who was dealing with pain and still active in life,” said the actor, who will celebrate 20 years of marriage with wife Jane Hajduk this fall. “The people in my life that I’m really amazed by have been through so much suffering and still show up every day and are good to other people and don’t let the pain get the better of them. I wanted to honor that.”
He continued, “So the studio asked, ‘Would you mind if I could eventually start dating?’ They thought it would be fun to see Tim Allen in a romantic relationship. We made a compromise and they allowed me to be a widower and I was allowed to do that. That’s a big difference. I’m not into that romance genre anymore in my personal life. I’m very different from the characters I play.”
Allen acknowledged it his past shows lasted almost a decade, but wasn’t sure what to expect when signing up for Shifting Gears.
“In home improvement, I never thought about lineage,” he said. “On Last Man Standing, it was easy to see the growth… This group of writers and the showrunner (on Shifting Gears), are really geniuses. They keep coming up with stories.”
Gear change airs on ABC on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.