Everybody loves a fun TV reunion, and sitcom fans had it made when Last Man Standing vet Nancy Travis re-joined Tim Allen on-screen for his newest network comedy, ABC’s Shifting Gears. She popped in for the Valentine’s Day episode for some low-level post-grief connecting with Allen’s widower Matt, and while we’re happy it didn’t immediately spark a romantic subplot, it would certainly be great to have the actress back, not to mention all the other LMS vets.
With Allen and Travis’ former on-screen daughter Kaitlin Dever set to cause post-apocalyptic chaos on The Last of Us Season 2, the Kominsky Method vet spoke with US Weekly about working again with Last Man Standing colleagues (and making them laugh). When asked about the possibility of Dever and her fictional siblings potentially popping up in Matt and Riley’s lives, Travis said:
Oh, of course. I have no doubt [about that]. Tim is nothing if not loyal. So it was great to walk on that set and see most of the crew was from Last Man Standing. The director John Pasquin did so many episodes of Last Man Standing and is a personal friend. It was just so great to feel this sense of reunion.
Though Nancy Travis did share the potentially disappointing viewpoint that she doesn't really foresee herself playing Allen's on-screen wife again, she does sound up for returning to the show in the future as Charlotte, assuming the character's connection with Matt bucks romantic expectations. I think it'd be great to have a sitcom like this with two non-married adult characters of the opposite sex who become BFFs without any lovey-dovey complications.
Not that Travis would have to be the one to make that happen, since Matt could also spark a friendship with characters played by other Last Man Standing vets like Amanda Fuller or Molly McCook. Though they might prefer to pal around with Kat Dennings' Riley.
While she was the first LMS vet to join Allen again in Shifting Gears, we already know she won't be the last, as fellow former co-star Jay Leno will appear in a future episode. And Travis doesn't think it'll end there, either, even bringing up Dennings' former sitcom as well. In her words:
I wouldn’t be surprised if everybody from Last Man Standing shows up on Shifting Gears in one way or another. If Tim has his way, he’ll make sure that everybody from 2 Broke Girls comes on too.
And we will be here waiting and watching for all of those characters to show up. How cool would it be if there was some kind of a car show, and all of the attendees were actors from past Tim Allen and Kat Dennings projects? Jonathan Taylor Thomas, this means you. Or, you know, whoever.
Even though Last Man Standing's former showrunner Kevin Abbott is currently heading up Reba McEntire's Happy Place on NBC, Shifting Gears is spearheaded by Michelle Nader, who was a writer and producer on 2 Broke Girls. So there's definitely connective tissue running throughout this show, even if it's not all connected to Tim Allen's past.
Shifting Gears airs new episodes every Wednesday night on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET, and streams the next day with a Hulu subscription.
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