Shifting Gears viewers might be surprised to find out that the ABC sitcom initially chose not to have Tim Allen‘s character date around before bringing Jenna Elfman back as his love interest.
During the Wednesday, February 4, finale of the hit ABC sitcom, Matt (Allen) made an effort to meet someone new after his split from Eve (Elfman) — by going on a traditional values dating app. TradSwipe didn’t work well for Matt, who ended up on a disastrous date with Lynn (Angela Kinsey). He then had a chance encounter at the bar with Eve that inspired them to get back together following a shocking split.
“It had to be her. It literally had to be Eve,” showrunner Michelle Nader exclusively told Us Weekly about the plan for Allen’s longterm onscreen love interest. “But we have a widower — who is played by Tim Allen after he has always been married on his previous shows.”
Nader noted that there was never a plan to have Matt too involved in the dating scene, adding, “Tim isn’t really a guy that would be comfortable dating a lot of women. The idea was, ‘Should we do this show about this older guy dating?’ Because obviously it’s going to be about family, inevitably you’re going to get to dating.”
Shifting Gears found ways to explore Matt’s love life — without making it the sole focus.
“In the season 2 finale, that kind of date is fun. It was Angela — who is amazing and so funny — but I don’t think that would have worked for Matt’s character on a daily basis to be going out or dating a younger woman because that’s just not who he is as a person,” Nader explained. “We did have to figure out who is the right person that you’re going to root for? We caught Jenna and then the magic was there.”
She continued: “I thought it was going to be but then it really is. They really love working with each other and they have a lot of chemistry.”
The ABC series, which premiered in January 2025, marks the first time Allen has starred on a sitcom where his character isn’t married. (Allen’s characters on hit shows Home Improvement and Last Man Standing were already in committed relationships when each series began.)
After mourning the loss of his wife, Allen’s character Matt formed a connection with Eve. The pair dated throughout the second season before calling it quits due to long distance. They rekindled their relationship in Wednesday’s finale, which turned into Matt agreeing to join Eve on the road for her job.
“Tim trusts me and then I trust him. He was the one that said, ‘I wouldn’t want to be in a long distance relationship because I wouldn’t at my age want to do that,’” Nader noted to Us. “I didn’t understand but I was like, ‘OK, all right.’ Then we figured out how to make that poignant and I think it worked.”
Nader revealed that it was always the plan to bring Elfman, 54, back, saying, “Sometimes in life —especially as you get older — things are more complicated than they are when in your 20s. I always wanted to respect the fact that Matt was this guy who lost his wife. He was a widower and he would still visit her. I wanted to give him the right kind of respect and he wasn’t really ready to really fully commit.”
It wasn’t until Elfman’s character was introduced that the show evolved.
“Let’s just talk about that magical person. She was the right person,” Nader shared. “That’s the thing about sitcoms is inner emotions that everybody thinks are really heightened. But they’re really heightened in real moments of reality — or else they don’t resonate.”
Nader also opened up about working with Allen, 72, to develop the story. “It’s a sense of authenticity to his character and who Tim is too. We’re very different, obviously. And we come at it from male and female perspectives,” she added. “Believe me, we go back and [forth] with him and I. We definitely go back and forth on things because we both have strong opinions about stuff. Ultimately, Tim has to play it right so he has to be comfortable.”
Shifting Gears is currently streaming on Hulu.
