One of many main tales to come back out in regards to the first season of Tim Allen’s new present Shifting Gears needed to do with the very fact the longtime comic had employed a variety of the identical folks he’d labored with in prior reveals like Final Man Standing and Dwelling Enchancment. Not the whole lot on the collection has ties to the previous, nevertheless. In truth, the ABC comedy additionally had so as to add a totally new division for Shifting Gears. And it’s all because of Matt Parker proudly owning an autobody store.
Why Shifting Gears Has A Entire Division Sitcoms “Usually Don’t Have”
The brand new division in Shifting Gears is fittingly known as the “transportation division,” and the folks in that division know an entire heckuva lot about vehicles. Manufacturing Designer Stephan Olson was the one who imparted this piece of information in an interview with Indiewire, noting the division needs to be there as a result of characters like Matt, Sew and Gabriel are imagined to be engaged on automobiles in various states of growth and restore.
We’re very fortunate as a result of Tim is a automobile man, and he has his personal assortment of wonderful automobiles. [So far] they’re Tim’s vehicles, and we now have a transportation division and a automobile advisor workforce. And they also know what vehicles are going to come back in every episode, and what would be the development of [the characters’ repair] work, if any? That’s an entire division that you simply usually don’t have.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Tim Allen truly confirmed he’d lent a few of his personal vehicles out for the present to make use of, however I’d by no means truly thought-about the entire logistics that want to enter that. First, I’d assume most of Allen’s vehicles are in pristine situation, but when they will be within the autobody store, the present has to provide you with some faux work to be performed after which present a development of that work being performed whereas scenes are filmed within the storage.
Then, somebody additionally needs to be readily available to maintain continuity tabs on the vehicles and guarantee that nothing will get jacked up whereas they’re on set. Actually, it feels form of courageous to me that Tim Allen is prepared to herald his vehicles, his valuable infants, and permit them to be fake “repaired.” Olson additionally admitted that it’s necessary the actor has the final phrase on the whole lot, so he’s finicky to an extent. (Which truthfully makes it extra spectacular he is permitting the present to make use of his vehicles.)
Tim, he’s acquired the final phrase on the whole lot. He’ll undergo a dressed set, and he’ll go, ‘Not that, not that, I like that, transfer that over there.’
In brief, it’s clear he doesn’t take something evenly whereas filming, regardless that the sitcom itself is lighthearted.
The idea generally has resonated with followers and helped Shifting Gears to grow to be the No. 1 comedy on the 2025 TV schedule; although surprisingly, on the time of this writing the sitcom has not been renewed for Season 2 but. Spring sweeps are proper across the nook, although. I very a lot have my fingers crossed we’ll be getting extra episodes, and in extension, extra vehicles.