What To Know
- Kaitlyn Dever surprised her former Last Man Standing TV dad, Tim Allen, by appearing on the set of his new sitcom Shifting Gears.
- Dever, who played Eve Baxter on Last Man Standing, transitioned to a recurring role after the show moved to Fox, while Allen now stars as Matt Parker on Shifting Gears alongside Kat Dennings as his daughter.
- Dever has credited Allen and Nancy Travis for their professionalism and comedic mentorship during their time together.
Tim Allen stopped dead in his tracks during a recent taping of Shifting Gears when he saw former TV daughter Kaitlyn Dever in the kitchen instead of his new TV daughter, Kat Dennings — another K.D.!
In footage Shifting Gears posted to its official Instagram account, Allen walked on set and froze when it was Dever, his old Last Man Standing costar, who popped up from behind a refrigerator door.
Allen keeled over in surprise, and the studio audience laughed and cheered. Then the former colleagues shared a sweet hug before Dever imitated Allen’s shocked expression. Dennings, who was hiding behind the kitchen island for the prank, also went in for a hug.
“Kaitlyn Dever is here!” Allen shouted to the audience.
Dever played Eve Baxter, daughter of Allen’s Mike Baxter, for the first six of seasons of Last Man Standing as they aired on ABC between 2011 and 2017. When Fox picked up the sitcom and aired three more seasons between 2018 and 2021, Dever shifted to a recurring status as she moved on to starring roles in the film Booksmart and the TV shows Unbelievable and Dopesick. More recently, Dever starred in the series The Last of Us and Apple Cider Vinegar.
Allen, meanwhile, found another sitcom role as Matt Parker on Shifting Gears, in which Dennings costars as Matt’s daughter, Riley. The show debuted on ABC in January and returned for a second season in October.
Allen and Last Man Standing wife, Nancy Travis, made a big impression on Dever when they all worked together.
“Tim and Nancy are really cool on set,” Dever told My Take on TV in 2012. “They’re very professional. Mainly, I’ve learned a lot from them working with them, in their environment. From Tim, he’s always giving me how to say a comedic line. When we have a short, quick rewrite on a tape night, he’ll help me out with how to say the line and then have the audience laugh. Comedic pausing and stuff. He’s really good about helping me out with that — I’ve learned a lot from both of them.”
And in 2016, she told Assignment X, “Me and Tim, I feel like we’re always laughing at each other. I feel like it’s always when we mess up. We can tell when we’re just about to mess up, but we haven’t messed up our line yet, and he just makes me laugh.”
Shifting Gears, Wednesdays, 8/7c, ABC