Kat Dennings Says Tim Allen’s Latest Sitcom Isn’t Just for Red States
Whether or not you’ve actually watched it, Tim Allen’s Shifting Gears is a phenomenon. Its premiere set a streaming audience record for ABC, and it was the network’s highest-rated new sitcom since The Connors returned in 2017. Given the show’s poor reviews and Allen’s status as a conservative comedian, The Wall Street Journal suggests red states should get the credit for pushing the new comedy to the top. But his costar, Kat Dennings, ain’t buying it.
“I wouldn’t agree with that,” Dennings told Deadline. “I can understand why, because there’s a conservative viewpoint from Tim’s character, but I think the fun of the show is the dynamic between Tim’s character and my character because they have completely opposing viewpoints. It’s about how they navigate that in their relationship. That’s kind of where the core of the comedy comes from.”
Dennings said Allen doesn’t make his politics an issue while filming Shifting Gears. The conservative Allen “is a very open, sensitive person, and he doesn’t discuss this stuff on set. I think he knows that it’s best,” she explained. “Everyone at work wants to maintain a professional and comfortable environment, so that stuff is really left at the door, and the writers take advantage of the different styles to make a show.”
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Truth is, there’s not much politics on Shifting Gears either. Allen’s character complains that it’s no longer politically correct to say “dwarf” so we know he’s a conservative (and that Allen’s writers think “dwarf” is a funny word). However, the show sidesteps even the inevitable gender jokes when his character Matt refuses to use pronouns at all because he “hates everyone equally.”
If red (or blue) states are swallowing the show’s tepid punchlines, it likely has less to do with politics and more to do with nostalgia for a certain kind of sitcom rhythm missing from today’s comedies. It’s the Matlock of sitcoms — popular because it’s familiar to an aging demographic that still tunes in to specific channels at specific times.
The comfort-food sitcom seems intent on avoiding politics while simultaneously winking at them. “So it’s that classic Thanksgiving dinner quandary where you’re like, ‘Okay, we just have to be civil to each other for two hours and not talk about it,’” Dennings concluded. “That’s kind of the comedy center of this show.”
