Tim Allen is returning to ABC.
The former Last Man Standing star will topline Shifting Gears, a multicamera comedy pilot for the Disney-backed broadcast network.
Shifting Gears revolves around Matt (Allen), a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter and her teenage kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.
Mike and Julie Scully will co-write the script and exec produce the pilot alongside Allen and Last Man’s Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker and Rick Messina.
Allen starred in Last Man Standing, which was originally developed for ABC and aired six of its nine seasons on the network before moving to Fox as part of a wonky ownership move. That series, like Shifting Gears, was produced by 20th Television. The studio was formerly owned by Fox, which licensed Last Man to ABC before Disney acquired the studio. Disney then licensed the show back to Fox, where it aired its final three seasons.
The Shifting Gears order comes as ABC has pivoted to a year-round development model. It’s ABC’s first pilot order of 2024 and arrives as the network already has drama High Potential in line for the 2024-25 broadcast season after the series was developed more than a year ago.
This is the fourth broadcast pilot order of 2024, as only NBC is producing pilots this season.
