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Although sold to audiences as a delightful holiday comedy for the family, John Pasquin's 1994 blockbuster "The Santa Clause" has a twisted premise at its heart. Divorced dad Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is looking after his young son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) on Christmas night when, up on the roof, there arises a clatter. He goes to investigate and finds the very real Santa Claus preparing to go down his chimney. Scott yells out and startles Santa, causing the jolly old man to fall off the roof to his death. The accidental manslaughter of Santa Claus is a weird place to start a heartwarming fable for kids, much less Disney's larger "Santa Clause" franchise.

Scott then finds a business card among Santa's belongings, entreating him to don the furry red coat and pick up the Christmas gig where Santa left off. Scott, in turn, returns the sleigh to the North Pole...

Kat Dennings made headlines for her performance earlier this year in Shifting Gears, but before she ever teamed up with Tim Allen for the popular sitcom, she played arguably her most famous character of all time. Dennings debuted as Darcy Lewis in 2011’s Thor, one of the first MCU movies, and she played the character as recently as last year in animation and 2022 in live-action, making her one of the most tenured veterans in the franchise.

When Marvel announced the cast for Avengers: Doomsday back in March, Dennings was not one of the names to receive a casting chair. However, a new Instagram post from the star may have just teased her return in the film. Dennings posted a photo of her holding an extremely realistic Captain America shield that could belong to the new Captain America, Anthony Mackie. She captioned the photo, “Don’t get excited, I’m just sampling the hardware,...

As the 2024-2025 television season winds down, ABC is already looking to the future, renewing veteran dramas “9-1-1,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Rookie” and “Will Trent,” as well as freshman sitcom “Shifting Gears.”

The five shows join the already renewed comedy “Abbott Elementary” and breakout hit drama “High Potential” as scripted shows returning to the network for the 2025-2026 television season.

In terms of new shows, the network has handed a straight-to-series order to “9-1-1: Nashville,” a spinoff of “9-1-1” that will star Chris O’Donnell.

“9-1-1” Renewed for Season 9

Produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television and Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, and set to enter its ninth season (third on ABC), “9-1-1” was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, and explores the high-pressure experiences of first responders — including police officers, firefighters and dispatchers — who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping conditions. These emergency...

ABC has renewed freshman comedy series Shifting Gears, starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, for a second season. According to sources, the pickup is for 10 episodes, which is not atypical for a series that has launched in midseason and matches the sitcom’s Season 1 order.

Shifting Gears was one of two ABC series on the bubble this spring, along with fellow freshman Doctor Odyssey. The drama starring Joshua Jackson and Don Johnson now remains the only ABC scripted series in limbo as the network today also renewed — as expected — veterans Grey’s Anatomy, 9-1-1, The Rookie as well as third-year drama Will Trent, which join previously picked up High Potential and Abbott Elementary.

Marking the return to ABC of Last Man Standing and Home Improvement star Allen, Shifting Gears got off to a red-hot start, with the pilot episode logging almost 17M cross-platform viewers over its first week for ABC...

ABC is renewing four dramas and one comedy series, Variety has learned.

The Disney-owned broadcaster has picked up new seasons of “9-1-1,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Rookie,” and “Will Trent” as well as “Shifting Gears.” The renewals will bring “9-1-1” to Season 9, “Grey’s Anatomy” to Season 22, “The Rookie” to Season 8, “Shifting Gears” to Season 2, and “Will Trent” to Season 4.

ABC had previously announced renewals for both “High Potential” and the hit comedy “Abbott Elementary.” That means that the only current ABC show still awaiting word on a renewal is “Doctor Odyssey.” ABC has opted not to order any pilots this season, but did order the “9-1-1” spinoff “9-1-1: Nashville” straight-to-series, with Chris O’Donnell set for a lead role.

Of today’s renewals, only “Shifting Gears” was seen as a toss up for a new season. The Tim Allen-Kat Dennings multi-cam suffered a noticeable drop off in the ratings since its January debut.

American politics may be a nonstop car crash right now, but wrapping “Shifting Gears” Season 1, Kat Dennings sounded hopeful. A self-described “curmudgeon,” the actress returned to the multi-cam format this spring opposite Tim Allen for ABC’s odd-couple comedy — about a father and daughter reuniting from across opposite sides of the aisle.

“I’m not what you call a super positive person,” Dennings told IndieWire after filming the season finale. “I kind of expect the worst, and then I’m pleasantly surprised. I don’t know. It’s a bad tactic. I need therapy. But I wasn’t expecting this kind of harmony on set.”

At 38, Dennings has spent nearly three decades working in film and TV. From playing Samantha Jones’ snottiest client on “Sex and the City” to co-starring in six seasons of the smash-hit “2 Broke Girls” on CBS, the veteran performer has seen her share of episodic productions.

Another Last Man Standing reunion episode is in the works for Tim Allen's new sitcom Shifting Gears. However, unlike the recently aired Valentine's Day episode, the returning Last Man Standing alum was not a main cast member during the show's nine-season run on ABC/Fox.

Per Screen Rant, in an upcoming episode of Shifting Gears, Allen will reunite with Jay Leno, who made recurring appearances in Last Man Standing as semi-retired auto technician Joe Leonard in the show's final five seasons. However, Allen and Leno's working relationship goes back even further than that, with Leno having made two guest appearances as himself on Allen's first sitcom, Home Improvement, in the 1980s. Leno will appear in the March 12 episode of Shifting Gears, titled "Gummies," as himself, with the storyline seeing the former Tonight Show bringing his car into Allen's character's car restoration shop, Parker Customs, for repair. Check out...

Sandra Bullock has starred in many critically acclaimed projects, giving the world an Oscar-winning performance in The Blind Side in 2009, the same year she received a Golden Raspberry for her role in All About Steve. A major rom-com queen, in 2000, she starred in Miss Congeniality.

Since its release in theaters, the movie has become a cult classic, despite the poor reviews. Miss Congeniality was a great undercover action comedy that became a hit in theaters. Almost 25 years since its release, Miss Congeniality is now a hit on Netflix,Tudum reveals.

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The movie was a massive box office flop.

For the week between Feb. 3 and 9, Miss Congeniality debuted on the platform in sixth place in the U.S. charts. Per FlixPatrol, the action comedy also debuted at No. 10 in Italy on Netflix, and enjoyed some popularity in Portugal, as well, where it sits in third place.

Tim Allen is shifting gears by bringing in another stand-up comedian to help generate some laughs on his ABC sitcom.

Jay Leno will make a cameo as himself in episode 109 of Shifting Gears, Allen’s new comedy in which he plays a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. Leno brings his car into Allen’s shop, Parker Customs, for repair. No word on whether car came from Leno’s actual fleet.

The episode will air March 12.

Kat Dennings plays Allen’s daughter in the comedy that revolves around Allen’s Matt, who allows her and his grandkids to move into his house. The rest of Shifting Gears main cast includes Seann William Scott as Gabriel, who also works at the shop, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter and Barrett Margolis as Georgia.

Jenna Elfman recurs as Eve Drake, a spirited choreographer and owner of...

Tim Allen comedies are still a big draw, apparently, because the premiere of his latest series Shifting Gears has set an audience record for ABC.

In the seven days since it debuted on January 8, the first episode has amassed nearly 17M multi-platform viewers across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, Disney says. That’s a 173% lift over the episode’s already fairly impressive same-day audience of 6.2M.

It is now ABC’s strongest series debut since The Conners in 2018 as well as the broadcaster’s most-watched streaming debut to date (based on streaming-only numbers across Hulu and Disney+).

That 17M figure encapsulates linear encores, without which the episode is sitting around 12.5M viewers — still up 101% from the same-day audience.

The sitcom stars Allen as Matt, the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings), and her teenage kids move into his house,...

“Shifting Gears” revved up nearly 17 million total viewers after seven days of cross-platform viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, TheWrap can reveal exclusively.

The Tim Allen and Kat Dennings-led comedy series brought in a total of 16.95 million viewers, a 173% increase over the show’s initial live-plus-same day viewing of 6.2 million, according to Nielsen. Among adults aged 18 to 49, the show earned an 0.87 rating.

It marks ABC’s strongest series debut since “The Conners” in 2018 and the most-watched ABC series premiere on streaming to date, based on views in its first seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

Kat Dennings and Tim Allen in “Shifting Gears.

Kat Dennings is no stranger to the TV sitcom world, having starred in 2 Broke Girls for six seasons as Max Black. Her latest project, the Tim Allen-led ABC sitcom, Shifting Gears, reunites Dennings with her 2 Broke Girls showrunner, Michelle Nader. Per Collider, Dennings said that even before landing the role as Tim Allen’s daughter, she had been wanting to get back into the sitcom game.

In Shifting Gears, Allen stars as Matt Parker, who owns a shop that specializes in car restoration whose estranged daughter, Riley (Dennings) comes back into his life suddenly, along with her two kids. The show debuted on Jan. 8 and currently has a 45% Rotten Tomatoes score.

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“I hadn’t said anything about it to anybody,...

After finding great success with multiple sitcoms in the past, Tim Allen returned to the format with the all-new ABC series Shifting Gears. Co-starring Kat Dennings as his daughter, the series debuted on ABC on Jan. 8.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the debut score for Shifting Gears was revealed to be 38%. The "rotten" rating comes from several critics lambasting the show for its "very predictable" writing and a many jokes that left a lot to be desired. It was not entirely negative, as there were some critics giving the sitcom positive reviews. Those who liked the show seem to especially enjoy the dynamic between Allen and Dennings in the lead roles.

Related 'It's Really Clever': Toy Story 5 Gets Exciting Update From Tim Allen

Buzz Lightyear voice actor Tim Allen comments on the upcoming fifth installment of the Toy Story movie series.

"Shifting Gears is saddled by some incredibly rigid, unfunny writing,...

Tim Allen — perhaps most famously known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on Home Improvement — is back to being a wisecrackin' dad on network television. The man behind Buzz Lightyear is starring opposite Kat Dennings in a new ABC sitcom called Shifting Gears, and the first trailer for the series is right here, right now, for you to watch. So park it here for a second while we crowbar another car metaphor into this opening paragraph, and then we'll get on with the trailer-viewing, eh?

Also featuring the honking talents of a one Mr. Seann William Scott — he of Dude, Where's My Car? fame, which we are legally obligated to mention anytime Scott and cars are mentioned in tandem — and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell as employees of the classic car restoration business Matt owns, Shifting Gears will focus on the reunion of Allen's Matt with his daughter Riley (Dennings) and her...

A new trailer has been released for Shifting Gears, the newest sitcom to star Tim Allen. The multi-cam comedy TV series also stars 2 Broke Girls' Kat Dennings, known in part for playing Darcy Lewis in the MCU.

Shifting Gears is set to premiere on ABC on Jan. 8. In the series, Allen plays the widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop while Allen plays his estranged daughter who turns back up in his life needing a place to stay. The trailer showcases how the two are reunited, with Dennings' character driving a familiar car into her father's shop. Dennings also speaks about how she's "broke" and will need to move in with her children. A sneak peek at the dynamic between the two stars can be seen by watching the trailer below.

Related 'It's Really Clever': Toy Story 5 Gets Exciting Update From Tim Allen

Buzz Lightyear voice actor Tim...

ABC has released an extended trailer for Shifting Gears, the latest Tim Allen multi-cam that features him as a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop who begrudgingly allows his daughter and grandkids to move into his house.

Kat Dennings plays his kin in the comedy that premieres Jan. 8. The rest of Shifting Gears main cast includes Seann William Scott as Gabriel, who also works at the shop, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter and Barrett Margolis as Georgia. In December, Deadline revealed that Jenna Elfman will recur as Eve Drake, a spirited choreographer and owner of the dance studio across from Parker Customs.

ABC picked up comedy to series in the summer but opted to move ahead without Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully, the writers who created it. Michelle Nader took over, marking her third series with Dennings; she previously served as executive...

ABC has released a trailer for its forthcoming comedy series Shifting Gears, which puts Tim Allen in dad mode once more — although the family he heads is a fractured one.

The series, which premieres Jan. 8, centers on Allen’s Matt and his estranged adult daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings), who moves back home with her two kids (Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis) — and the classic Pontiac Gto she took from her dad — when her life hits a rough patch.

Shifting Gears marks a return to ABC for Allen, who led one of the biggest sitcoms of the 1990s in Home Improvement and starred in six seasons of Last Man Standing for the network (the latter show then moved to Fox for three more seasons). ABC placed a series order for Shifting Gears in July.

The show’s cast also includes Daryl “Chill” Mitchell and Seann William Scott as employees of the...

Exclusive: Jenna Elfman, best known for her starring role in the 1997 ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg, is returning to the network with a recurring role on another multi-camera comedy series, the upcoming Shifting Gears, headlined by fellow ABC sitcom star Tim Allen. It is produced by the same studio, 20th Television.

Shifting Gears stars Tim Allen as Matt, the stubborn, widowed owner of Parker Customs, a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter (Kat Dennings) and her kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.

Elfman will play Eve Drake, a spirited choreographer and owner of the dance studio across from Parker Customs. The role is a good fit for Elfman who is a classically trained ballerina and began her career as a professional dancer, appearing in music videos by Depeche Mode and Anthrax and dancing on the 1991 Academy Awards live broadcast. Elfman also did some “interpretive...

Exclusive: It will be a Dollface reunion on the set of Shifting Gears, starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings.

Brenda Song, who co-starred opposite Dennings on Dollface, will join Dennings in a guest-starring role on the upcoming ABC comedy series. She’ll also reunite with Shifting Gears showrunner and executive producer Michelle Nader, who served as showrunner on Dollface, which aired for two seasons on Hulu.

Shifting Gears stars Allen as Matt, the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter Riley (Dennings) and her kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.

Song will guest star as Caitlyn, a former high school classmate of Riley’s who is now the assistant principal of the school.

The series also stars Seann William Scott as Gabriel, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter and Barrett Margolis as Georgia.

Shifting Gears is produced by 20th Television,...

CBS' new sitcom starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings has gotten a premiere date. The new series, titled Shifting Gears, will launch early next year with some first look images now revealed.

Per TVLine, Shifting Gears is set to debut on CBS on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. It will air at 8/7c, serving as the lead into the midseason return of Abbott Elementary. A trailer has not yet been released for the new series, which features Dennings playing Allen's daughter. However, one of several first look photos reveals the two sharing the screen ahead of the show's premiere in early 2025. The photos can be seen below.

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In Shifting Gears, per the official synopsis, Allen plays Matt, the "stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop.

The premise for John Pasquin's 1994 hit Christmas film "The Santa Clause" is amusingly morbid at its heart. On Christmas Eve, divorced schlub Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) hears a clatter on his rooftop. When he goes to investigate, he finds that it's Santa Claus himself, scuttling down his chimney. Scott startles Santa, causing the jolly old fellow to slip off the roof and fall to his death. Yes, a delightful family comedy begins with the death of Santa.

Following some written instructions hidden on a business card in Santa's sleigh, Scott puts on the big guy's red coat and, lo finds he has to take Santa's place for the night. Once all the gifts are delivered, Calvin is taken to the North Pole, where he learns there was some fine print on the business card. In putting on the coat, Scott agreed to become Santa Claus in perpetuity, and will...

Former child actor and television star Zachery Ty Bryan is facing some new legal trouble after a recent arrest for DUI. It marks the second arrest of the year for the same charge after a prior incident in February.

Bryan, who's best known for playing Brad Taylor in the hit sitcom Home Improvement, was arrested on Friday by Oklahoma police, per TMZ. Police say they first observed Bryan sleeping in the back seat of his vehicle and initially let him be, only to observe him driving soon after. After a traffic stop was initiated, police say Bryan admitted that he was intoxicated, and the actor proceeded to fail field sobriety tests. Though Bryan reportedly turned down the breathalyzer, he described his soberness as a five on a 0 to 10 scale. He was then placed under arrest for DUI.

Related American Pie Fan Favorite Joins Tim Allen and Kat Dennings in New...

Shifting Gears, the upcoming ABC comedy series, has officially added another star to its talented cast. American Pies Sean William Scott has been signed on for a lead role in the series and is set to join previously announced stars Tim Allen and Kat Dennings. Picked up to series back in July, Shifting Gears is preparing to go into production in November. As per Variety, Allen plays Matt, a seasoned mechanic and a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop, who has a penchant for fixing things, be it cars or people's problems. Kat Dennings, popular for her role in 2 Broke Girls, stars as his quick-witted but estranged daughter, who returns home with her teenage kids in an attempt to restore their relationship.

Scott joins the cast as Gabriel, a family friend of Matt & Riley who works in the shop with Matt. Charming but slightly unpredictable, his...

Seann William Scott is once again returning to television, this time joining forces with some elite sitcom veterans.

Per Variety, Scott is set to join Tim Allen and Kat Dennings in ABC's upcoming sitcom, Shifting Gears. According to the official logline for the series, the sitcom centers around Matt (Allen), "the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matts estranged daughter (Dennings) and her teenage kids move into his house, the real restoration begins." Scott will play Gabriel in the series, who is described as a "family friend of Matt & Riley who works in the shop with Matt." With the cast rounding out for the series, Shifting Gears is expected to begin filming in November.

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Other announced members...

Seann William Scott has boarded ABC’s upcoming comedy series, “Shifting Gears.”

He will join series lead Tim Allen, as well as Kat Dennings, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis in the new sitcom. Scott’s casting comes months after “Shifting Gears” was ordered to series by ABC after initially receiving a pilot order from the network in March.

The new series centers on a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop named Matt (Allen). “When Matt’s estranged daughter Riley (Dennings) and her kids move into his house, the real restoration begins,” according to the official logline.

Scott joins the cast as Gabriel, a family friend of Matt and Riley who works in the shop. Mitchell will play Stitch, while Simkins plays Carter and Margolis stars as Georgia.

By the time “Shifting Gears” was ordered to series in July, writers Mike Scully and Julie Thacker-Scully,...

Seann William Scott has joined the upcoming ABC comedy series “Shifting Gears,” Variety has learned.

Scott will appear alongside series leads Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, as well as cast members Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins, and Barrett Margolis. The show was picked up to series in July with plans to begin shooting in November.

As previously announced, Allen stars in the series as Matt, “the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop,” per the official logline. “When Matt’s estranged daughter (Dennings) and her kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.”

Scott will appear in the newly created series regular role of Gabriel, who is described as a “family friend of Matt & Riley who works in the shop with Matt.”

This will be just the third series regular role Scott has had in his career. He previously starred in the Fox mockumentary comedy “Welcome to Flatch...

Seann William Scott has been tapped as a lead opposite Tim Allen and Kat Dennings in the upcoming ABC multi-camera comedy series Shifting Gears.

The sitcom, which will go into production in November, stars Allen as Matt, the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter, Riley (Dennings), and her teenage kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.

Scott will play Gabriel, a family friend of Matt (Allen) and Riley (Dennings) who works in the shop with Matt.

This is a newly created character that replaces Nick from the pilot. Originally played by Froy Gutierrez, Nick, Matt’s son and Riley’s game coder younger brother, will not be part of the series.

The cast also includes Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter and Barrett Margolis as Georgia.

Michelle Nader serves as showrunner. She succeeded Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully...

Michelle Nader, who previously worked on 2 Broke Girls, has joined the upcoming Tim Allen sitcom Shifting Gears as showrunner. The signing will see Nader reunite with Kat Dennings, who starred in the 2011 comedy as Maxine George Black, along with Beth Behrs as Caroline Wesbox Channing.

Per Deadline, Shifting Gears is the first project for Nader under her new overall deal with 20th Television, a division of Disney Television Studios. The industry veteran will write, develop, and produce comedy, drama, and limited series for linear networks and streaming platforms, with a focus on projects across Disney Entertainment Television's platforms.

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Shifting Gears received a series order from ABC in July. However, the series has experienced some behind-the-scenes changes,...

Comedy icon Tim Allen is revving back up for his return to ABC, the network that launched his legendary TV career in the 1990s. The alphabet network has given a series order to the multi-camera sitcom “Shifting Gears,” which will star Allen and rising star Kat Dennings.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Tim Allen back where it all started with ‘Home Improvement,'” said ABC president Craig Erwich. “His signature blend of humor and heart is exactly what we’re hoping ‘Shifting Gears’ captures.”

In “Shifting Gears,” Allen will play Matt, a recently widowed gearhead who owns a classic car restoration shop. His orderly world is turned upside down when his estranged daughter Riley (Dennings) and her two teenagers temporarily move back in. As Riley and the kids bring modern chaos to Matt’s garage, they all might finally shift into a higher gear as a family.

Joining the show...

Home Improvement and Last Man Standing star Tim Allen will be starring in another sitcom. ABC has officially greenlit Shifting Gears, a multi-cam comedy series starring Allen alongside Kat Dennings.

In May, it was reported that a pilot for the series had been in the works, and per Variety, it's now been confirmed that the network has ordered Shifting Gears to series. With the series order comes some changes behind the scenes, however. The project was initially deveooped with Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully serving as writers and executive producers. Both Scullys have now exited the sitcom, and the search is underway for a new showrunner. The two will still be credited as executive producers for the pilot episode.

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According...

ABC has picked up “Shifting Gears,” a new series from 20th Television starring Tim Allen. The actor will portray Matt, 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,” the logline states.

Starring alongside Allen will be Kat Dennings as Riley, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter and Barrett Margolis as Georgia. The previously announced role of Nick is being recast and will be announced at a later date.

Allen executive produces the series alongside Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina and John Pasquin, who also directed the pilot episode. Writers Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully, who are executive producers on the pilot episode, have amicably departed “Shifting Gears,” with a new showrunner that will be named imminently. Dennings serves as a producer.

The series order...

Tim Allen is officially returning to ABC.

The network has given a series order to Shifting Gears, a comedy starring Allen as a widower and owner of a classic car restoration business whose adult daughter (Kat Dennings) and teenage kids move back in with him. The series marks a return to ABC for Allen, who toplined the network’s 1990s hit Home Improvement and starred in Last Man Standing for six seasons before the show moved to Fox for its final three installments.

The series will move ahead with a new showrunner in place, as Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully (The Simpsons, Duncanville), who wrote and ran the pilot, have exited Shifting Gears. Sources say their departure was amicable and they will be credited as executive producers on the pilot. They also remain in business with Shifting Gears producer 20th Television. A new showrunner will be named soon.

Additionally,...

ABC has greenlit the multi-camera comedy “Shifting Gears” starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, Variety has learned.

The show was originally ordered to pilot at ABC back in March. However, the show is undergoing some changes both in front of and behind the camera. Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully — who were originally announced as writers and executive producers on “Shifting Gears — have exited the series. They will be credited as executive producers on the pilot episode. The search is now on for a new showrunner.

In addition, Froy Gutierrez had originally been cast in the role of Nick in the pilot, but that role will now be recast as the show goes to series.

The official logline for the series states that Allen stars as Matt, “the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter (Dennings) and her teenage kids move into his house,...

ABC has picked up the Tim Allen starrer Shifting Gears to series but will move ahead without the writers who created it.

Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully are leaving the comedy that centers on Matt (Allen), the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter Riley (Kat Dennings) and her kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.

No word on who will replace the Scullys, but Deadline understands that Allen has been looking for a showrunner replacement for weeks.

Related: 2024-25 ABC New Series

Shifting Gears also stars Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter and Barrett Margolis as Georgia. The previously announced role of Nick is being recast and will be announced at a later time.

Related: 2024-25 ABC Pilots & Series Orders

In March, Deadline exclusively announced that Allen, star of Last Man Standing and Home Improvement, was...

Exclusive: The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers alum Maxwell Simkins and newcomer Barrett Margolis are set as series regulars opposite Tim Allen and Kat Dennings in ABC multi-camera comedy pilot Shifting Gears (working title) from 20th Television.

Written by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully, Shifting Gears centers on Matt (Allen), the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter Riley (Dennings) and her kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.

Simkins and Margolis will play Carter and Georgia, the respective son and daughter of Riley and Matt’s grandchildren.

Allen and John Pasquin, who directs, executive produce Shifting Gears with the Scullys along with Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker and Rick Messina. Dennings is producing. Shifting Gears (wt) is produced by 20th Television.

Simkins was a series regular for two seasons on half-hour comedy series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers for Disney+, opposite Emilio Estevez,...

The ABC comedy pilot “Shifting Gears” has cast Daryl “Chill” Mitchell and Froy Gutierrez, Variety has learned exclusively.

The pair join previously announced series leads Tim Allen and Kat Dennings in the multi-cam comedy, which was originally ordered to pilot at ABC back in March.

In the show, “Matt (Allen) is the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt’s estranged daughter Riley (Dennings) and her teenage kids move into his house, the real restoration begins,” per the official logline.

Mitchell will star as Ed, described as “a former Marine. He’s a mechanic at the shop and ‘work husband’ of Frankie.” The role of Frankie has yet to be cast. Gutierrez will star as Nick, said to be “Matt’s son and Riley’s younger brother. He’s a game coder but put his life on hold to come home and help his father at the shop.

Doctor Mike reviews the medical accuracy of a checkup scene in The Santa Clause movie. The Santa Clause is a classic Christmas film about a man who becomes Santa Claus by accident. The movie follows Scott Calvin as he undergoes a magical transformation into jolly old St. Nick.

A real doctor reviews Scott Calvin’s checkup in The Santa Clause. The 1994 classic Christmas movie is about a man who accidentally makes Santa fall off of a roof on Christmas Eve, forcing him to take his place. The Santa Claus is directed by John Pasquin and stars Tim Allen as the fill-in Saint Nick.

Nearly three decades after the release of the film, Doctor Mike reviews the medical accuracy of a checkup in The Santa Clause. Check out the video below:

More to come…

Source: Doctor Mike

The Santa Clause

Disney's The Santa Clause follows Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), a marketing director for a toy company,...

By the early 1990s, Tim Allen was already a pretty big star in the worlds of stand-up comedy and television, having released two specials in 1990 and 1991 and earning a Prime-time Emmy nomination for his role as Tim "The Tool-Man" Taylor in the hit ABC sitcom Home Improvement. But, in 1994, Allen's fame skyrocketed after he starred in the Disney Christmas comedy film The Santa Clause.

Receiving commercial and critical acclaim, The Santa Clause spawned two movie sequels and a Disney+ series called The Santa Clauses. For Allen, the first installment marked his first major movie role, and his performance as a regular Joe who becomes Santa Claus earned him major attention from studios, as he went on to star in two Toy Story movies, Jungle 2 Jungle, For Richer or Poorer, and Galaxy Quest. And that was just during the '90s, when he also turned in five more seasons of Home Improvement.

Disney is well-known for its sea of Christmas releases. Dive into the magic of the season with these wholesome ones ( Photo Credit – IMDb )

Disney is known for taking Christmas time very seriously. They go all out with their Christmas special releases and their Holiday-themed movies, and all of them end up being very well-received by the public. This is understandable because Christmas is already a magical time, but add a little Disney fairy dust and a wish upon a star in there, and you have yourself the most magical holiday ever.

Here are five of the best Disney Christmas movies to enjoy with your family and add a touch of that magic to the holiday season.

1. Lady And The Tramp (1955)

When we think of romance, a budding relationship between two dogs is not what comes to mind. However, Disney’s “Lady And The Tramp,” released in 1955, makes us root for...

Season 2 of The Santa Clauses is now streaming on Disney+ with new episodes every Wednesday until the December 6 finale. The latest episodes focus on the introduction of Eric Stonestreet's Mad Santa and the efforts of Magnus Antas and Olga to take control of Christmas. Tim Allen and Elizabeth Allen-Dick discuss Scott's plan to turn the North Pole into a family business and the strengthening of the father-daughter relationship between their characters.

Season 2 of The Santa Clauses is currently streaming on Disney+ with new installments dropping every Wednesday until the finale on December 6. While the first season saw Scott and his family fight to save the North Pole from his poorly chosen successor, the latest batch of episodes focuses on the introduction of Eric Stonestreet's (Modern Family) Mad Santa. Finally free from the spell that left them incapacitated, Magnus Antas and his gnome, Olga, attempt to take Christmas back under their control.

Tracy Morgan will be hopping his way into The Santa Clauses with his special guest role in the upcoming second season. Serving as a follow-up to the Santa Clause movies, the series brings back Tim Allen as the titular gift-giver, and joining him in season 2 for a special appearance will be Morgan. Deadline reports that Morgan is set to play the Easter Bunny, though no details were revealed on how the character will be worked into the show's plot. The casting serves as a reunion between Morgan and series creator Jack Burditt, who worked as a writer on 30 Rock.

It was previously announced that Modern Family actor Eric Stonestreet was coming into the cast for the second season as another special character. He'll be playing Magnus Antas, aka the Mad Santa, a character who "reigned during the 14th century and is now returning to try and take down Scott Calvin...

In 1994, TV star Tim Allen became a bona fide movie star by nabbing the lead role in The Santa Clause, directed by John Pasquin. Allen plays Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who, in a bizarre twist of fate, inadvertently causes Santa to fall off his roof on Christmas Eve and finds himself magically recruited to take his place. The film would prove to be a smash success at the box-office and it seems that audiences were taken with this divorced dad transforming into the new Santa.

You would think with a massive hit like this that Disney would be quick to green-light a sequel, yet it would take almost a decade before the second instalment, The Santa Clause 2, hit theaters in 2002. That film centres on Scott Calvin trying to get married by Christmas Eve or else he’ll lose his title of Old Saint Nick. Sure, there’s also...

The premise of John Pasquin's 1994 comedy film, "The Santa Clause," is darker than the movie's PG rating might lead one to believe. Tim Allen plays a shiftless, no-good dad named Scott Calvin, perhaps named after the 16th-century philosopher John Calvin who espoused a belief in Christian predetermination. Scott Calvin, on Christmas Eve, hears someone shuffling around on his roof. He goes outside to investigate and startles the interloper, causing them to fall to their death. Calvin finds that the interloper was Santa Claus ... the actual Santa Claus. Scott Calvin may be the only Disney hero who has killed Santa, unless there are dark things I cannot recall about Eeyore.

Calvin, instructed by Santa's business card, dons Santa's red suit and takes control of his sleigh, having to complete the big man's Christmas delivery in his stead. At the end of the night, he returns Santa's gear to the North Pole,...

Exclusive: Matt Williams and John Pasquin, a writing, directing and producing team behind, together or singly, Roseanne, Home Improvement and Last Man Standing, are heading Off Broadway. Pasquin will direct Williams’ comic play Actually, We’re F**ked at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village this spring.

Previews of the comedy are set to begin Tuesday, February 26, with an official opening on Thursday, March 7. The limited engagement runs through Sunday, April 7.

Casting will be announced soon.

Actually chronicles four Millennials who order take out, drink too much wine and argue over how to save the planet. They know they’re the generation to fix it, and are up to the task, until someone shares a life-changing announcement, and they begin to question whether they should really eat that sushi from the deli with the cat in the window.

Williams, whose tumultuous working relationship with Roseanne Barr back...

For the first time in seven years at the Emmys, a multi-camera comedy will be nominated for Best Comedy Directing — because a new rule mandates it. One slot is now reserved for the multi-camera contender that receives the most votes. The revised rule book that the Emmys published last month actually states that nominees will be proportional to the number of single-camera versus multi-camera submissions, with at least one slot reserved for each type, but it has been at least a decade since there have been enough relative multi-camera submissions to theoretically unlock a second slot.

SEEour video slugfest discussing the new rule and other comedy races.

The Emmys have been gradually switching to proportional nominations in recent years; this is the highest-profile category to adopt it. Best Half-Hour Production Design has been the only race to proportionately nominate based on single-camera versus multi-camera submissions for the past four years...

The Roseanne revival is almost here!

The cast of the upcoming series reunited for their first table read of the season on Tuesday, just in time for the 29th anniversary of the show's original premiere on Oct. 18, 1988. The series ran for nine years until 1997, so it's fitting that the first episode of the revival is titled "Twenty Years of Life." 

Returning cast members Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne Barr, Michael Fishman, Sarah Chalke, Lecy Goranson, John Goodman and Sarah Gilbert were all smiles at the table read, as they were joined by director John Pasquin, executive producers Bruce Helford, Tony Hernandez and Whitney Cummings and co-executive producer Sid Youngers. Barr and Gilbert also serve as executive producers.

Additions to the cast include Jayden Rey, Ames McNamara (Darlene and David's son, Mark) and Emma Kenney (Darlene and David's daughter, Harris).

Related: 'Roseanne' Reboot Will Feature Major Storyline Tweak, Johnny Galecki May Return

As for whether David himself, Johnny Galecki, will make...

“Whereeeeeee’s Johnny?” are among the handful of words that come to mind upon glimpsing the first photos from the set of ABC’s forthcoming Roseanne revival.

The network on Tuesday released a pair of images (see below) from the comedy’s inaugural table read, and the gang is mostly all there… with the exception of co-star Johnny Galecki (David), whose participation in the eight-episode continuation remains up in the air due to his commitment to The Big Bang Theory. Last month, Galecki’s Roseanne wife Sara Gilbert, who serves as an Ep on the revival, told TVLine, “We are...

In HitFix's new feature "Waxing Episodic," we reflect on an episode of television we'll never forget. One of the great strengths of "Roseanne" was the casting of its child actors, from mini Roseanne lookalike Michael Fishman as the apple-cheeked D.J. to Lecy Goranson as petulant eye-roller "Becky No. 1" and especially Sara Gilbert as snarky, sarcastic tomboy Darlene, who could dole out zingers with the timing of a seasoned comedy pro. While Goranson always felt painfully exposed as Becky and had a number of episodes built around one or another of her social embarrassments (most memorably Season 2 opener "Inherit the Wind"), Darlene -- while always charmingly insouciant -- was never properly dimensionalized until the Season 2 episode "Brain-Dead Poets Society," which climaxes with one of the most quietly moving moments I've ever seen on a traditional family sitcom. Written by Joss Whedon and directed by John Pasquin (who helmed every...

Lost among the slew of high-profile broadcast comedy pilots this season were two low-budget pilots/presentations created by and starring up-and-coming comedians few had heard of, Cristela Alonzo and Jerrod Carmichael. Ten days before the start of the upfronts, many of those big-budget, big-name pilots have fallen by the wayside. But the Cristela Alonzo and Jarrod Carmichael projects are still standing. Both have exceeded expectations, both have been very well received and both are in contention for a series pickup. Alonzo’s semi-autobiographical Cristela, from 20th TV and studio-based 21 Laps/Adelstein, has been a true Cinderella story. It was sold to ABC last summer with penalty. But with several high-profile multi-camera sitcoms landing pilot orders at the network, including two from 20th TV, The Winklers starring Henry Winkler, and the untitled Kevin Hart project, Cristela didn’t make the cut. However, the producers, who also are behind ABC’s Last Man Standing,...

There is nothing new about the misrepresentation of minorities in mainstream media. These erroneous portrayals serve to accentuate the stereotypes surrounding those groups that don't have a powerful enough voice within the content production platforms. Therefore, their identity is rendered to the homogenous perception of those in charge, which doesn't allow for diversity to be exposed. Latin culture is often victim of this one-size-fits-all perspective in the form of exaggerated and cliched character flaws often associated with the Latino experience in the United State.

Vivid examples are the grotesque images of Latino characters in recent mainstream animated films like Despicable Me 2 and Disney's Planes . In both instances there is a Mexican character reduced to being a heavily-accented, flamboyant, womanizing male with a thick mustache. But if this happens to the male Latin figure, how are Latina's viewed? They are often sexually objectified and presented as victims of the chauvinism attached to their male counterparts. As it is, woman of all backgrounds are underrepresented in the media, adding the element of forming part of a minority complicates the situation further.

Focusing on this issues, Latin Heat Entertainment has recently published 3 great articles that focus on the current Latina experience in Hollywood from distinct points of view. Take a look below.

Latina Representation on TV: We're More Than Just a Spicy Chicken Sandwich

By Liz Felix

I wasn’t a M.E.Ch.A. member in high school. My Spanish isn’t great, I eat hot dogs and hamburgers, I drink Coors, and I place my right hand over my heart when I sing the national anthem. And so when it comes to portrayal of Latinas in pop culture, where are the people... Read the entire article Here

She's Sexy, Funny, and Handsome? She Is Ricardo!

Jenni Ruiza and Jesenia are both the producers and writers of the hit comedy web series Becoming Ricardo. Jesenia plays the title role, who is desperate to make it as an actress, and in an attempt to grab her career, as she puts it “by the balls”, she transforms herself into Ricardo Montalban the leading man of a major TV network hit crime show Crime, Law & Order.. Read the entire article Here

Cristela Alonzo Hopes to Inspire With Her New Sitcom "Cristela"

Rising stand-up comedian Cristela Alonzo remains in fall contention at ABC. Alonzo has been given a pilot presentation for her semi-autobiographical multi-camera comedy, Cristela. The pilot taping is scheduled for next week on March 27th in Los Angeles. Listed as a pilot presentation with John Pasquin directing the cast of ten, led by Alonzo. The multi camera comedy show, co-written by Alonzo and Kevin Hench, tells.. Read the entire article Here...