Tim Allen recently addressed whether there are any plans for his former Home Improvement co-star Jonathan Taylor Thomas to appear on his latest sitcom, Shifting Gears.
“Everything is a possibility,” Allen, 71, shared exclusively in the latest issue. “He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set.”
Allen expressed his deep affection for Thomas, 43, adding, “He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on Home Improvement. All of these are my kids, and I’m kind of sick about this.”
Before taking the lead in ABC’s Shifting Gears, Allen starred in Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999 alongside Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Taran Noah Smith, Zachery Ty Bryan, Richard Karn, and Debbe Dunning. Thomas left the series early to focus on his education, eventually stepping away from acting altogether.
Reunited On Screen
Allen and Thomas later reunited on Last Man Standing, where Thomas appeared in four episodes and directed three. Despite staying out of the public eye, Thomas has left a lasting impression on Allen, who has continued to thrive as a sitcom dad, first as Mike Baxter in Last Man Standing (2011–2021) and now as Matt Parker in Shifting Gears.
“[My former onscreen wife] Nancy Travis once told me [something] after I called her during Last Man Standing. I said, ‘Have you talked to the girls [who play our daughters] over the summer?’ Then there’s this long pause and she goes, ‘Tim, these aren’t our daughters, and I’m not actually your wife,’” Allen joked.
“She was so wonderful about it because sometimes when they were having trouble on the show, I’d go, ‘How do you think they feel?’ And she would respond, ‘Tim, they’re actors. We just read [what is on the page, but] she’s not really that sad.’”
A New Dynamic
In Shifting Gears, Allen plays a widowed father reconnecting with his estranged daughter, portrayed by Kat Dennings. Both actors praised their instant chemistry upon joining the series.
“The director wanted to see how we got along. It never stopped. The kismet was crazy. We’re both born on the same day — many years apart,” Allen told.
“We’re different in so many ways. But our attitude about comedy is very similar. She cracks me up, and I’m not easy that way. Kat can [deliver these lines] with a straight face. Her anger — that she played on 2 Broke Girls — is very similar to the sharpness that Mike Baxter could get into now.”
He continued, “When we argue on screen, it’s funny that we interrupt each other, and it comes quite naturally. I don’t know where it’s coming from. I adore this person already. She and her husband [Andrew W.K.] are great people. It is like I’ve known her for freaking years, same as most of this cast.”
Mutual Admiration
Dennings, 38, echoed Allen’s sentiments, saying their bond developed quickly.
“It clicked pretty fast. We had lunch after I accepted the role, and I felt immediately like I could trust him for some reason,” she told Us in an exclusive interview. “And he opened up really fast to me. So I [was] like, ‘OK, this guy is like letting me in.’”
The trust between the two actors enhanced their comedic timing. “It felt very organic,” Dennings recalled. “And as [filming has] progressed, our scenes are so funny, if I do say so myself. The arguments are my favorite scenes to play because I have no fear. There’s no fear for either of us. We just absolutely go for it, and it’s so much fun.”
Returning to Sitcoms
Despite enjoying his time on Shifting Gears, Allen admitted he was initially hesitant to return to traditional television.
“It was a complicated decision. I was doing Disney+’s Santa Clauses series at the time, and I said, ‘I really can’t think about this now.’ Do I want to do linear TV? I was so depressed at how streaming has hurt television. So if I did it, I want to elevate it.”
Shifting Gears airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.