By Michaela Gordoni
Tim Allen’s SHIFTING GEARS character, Matt, confronts his grief and starts dating again in Season 2.
In some new first-look photos from the new season, Matt can be seen at the gravesite of his late wife and hanging out with two love interests, Eve and Charlotte — separately, of course.
Season 1 showed Matt crossing paths with new characters played by Patricia Richardson, Debbe Dunning and Richard Karn. ABC previously teased that the trio “show up to support” Matt in “an unexpected way” in Season 2.
The show’s Instagram page teased photos of the cast: “One week until the reunion of a lifetime.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DO_ixRejdJM/?img_index=2
Related: Tim Allen Reveals What Makes SHIFTING GEARS Stand Apart From Other Hit Shows
Allen said, “From the very beginning, [the creative team has said] that we’ve never seen Tim Allen in a sitcom with a romantic interest. And I said, ‘Well, I’ve just lost my wife, so I don’t see it.’ So I love where we are.”
“I said, ‘If it happens over time and happens organically with two people that do not get along, then it is OK,’” he continued. “I just am really cautious about this. I just want it to happen where it’s organic and proper.”
In addition to Allen and Kat Dennings, who plays his daughter, the show also stars Seann William Scott, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis. Jenna Elfman plays choreographer Eve Drake, who owns a dance studio across from the shop run by Allen’s character.
Comedian Gabriel Iglesias, AKA Fluffy, said he’s joining Season 2 in the role he’s “born to play.”
“[Matt’s] more like me. I’m more of an artist. I was a design student and a philosopher and my standup comedy is really about messing with people in a good way,” Allen shared.
“…I want this to be that guy. He’s not a ‘man’s man’ in that term, and he wasn’t trying to be anything but what he does,” he said.
Allen says Matt isn’t like his other sitcom characters, though he does share some commonalities with them.
“This is a new character and it’s much closer to [who I am]. I’ve been through grief in my life with losing my father,” he explained. “I’ve been blessed to be a comedian and so that’s who this [character] is. If I did it again, I wanted to get as much closer to the [man] that I am.”
SHIFTING GEARS Season 2 premieres on ABC on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. ET.
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