November 12, 2024
Mike Taing/Disney
'Shifting Gears' stars Bryn Mawr native Kat Dennings, right, as the estranged daughter of a car restoration shop owner, played by Tim Allen. The multi-camera sitcom premieres Jan. 8 before the 'Abbott Elementary' crossover episode with 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.'
ABC's midseason lineup has a double dose of shows featuring Philadelphia-area actors.
"Shifting Gears," which stars Bryn Mawr native Kat Dennings and Tim Allen, premieres Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m., pushing "Abbott Elementary" to a new time slot of 8:30 p.m.
Dennings, also a producer on the show, portrays Riley, the estranged daughter of Allen's character Matt, who runs a classic car restoration shop. Riley and her teenage kids move in with Matt, and the two try to restore their relationship.
Seann William Scott stars as Gabriel, a family friend of the couple who works at the car shop, and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell plays Stitch, a former Marine and a mechanic at the shop.
"Shifting Gears" is a traditional multi-camera sitcom. It is a return-to-comedy-television shows for both Dennings, who starred in "2 Broke Girls" and "Dollface," and Allen, who is best known for "Home Improvement" and "Last Man Standing."
The "Shifting Gears" premiere will be followed by the "Abbott Elementary" crossover episode with "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," which stars Philly native Quinta Brunson. The episode will be the first of a two-part episode, with the second airing on FXX for Season 17 of "It's Always Sunny."
Following "Shifting Gears" and "Abbott Elementary" on Wednesdays on ABC are new episodes of "Celebrity Jeopardy!" and the hidden camera show "What Would You Do?"
Writers Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully were attached as executive producers and writers of "Shifting Gears," but they departed the project. They remain executive producers for the pilot. Michelle Nader, a collaborator of Dennings who ran her previous two sitcoms, "2 Broke Girls" and "Dollface," joined "Shifting Gears" as its new showrunner in September.
