The network has passed on a second pilot, the Ty Burrell-led ‘Forgive and Forget.’
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 passed on another comedy pilot, the Ty Burrell-led Forgive and Forget. It starred the Modern Family Emmy winner as a man who, after receiving an unexpected medical diagnosis, tries to reconnect with his adult son (Sean Rodriguez Marquette).
Along with Allen and Dennings, the cast of Shifting Gears features Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis. Allen executive produces with Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina and pilot director John Pasquin; the Scullys will be EPs on the pilot.
Shifting Gears and Forgive and Forget were the only two half-hour pilots ABC developed during the 2024-25 cycle. The former joins a slim comedy roster at the network that also includes Abbott Elementary, which will begin its fourth season in the fall, and the final season of The Conners, set for early 2025.
Allen is repped by Messina Baker Entertainment, WME and Ziffren Brittenham. Dennings is with Gersh, Linden Entertainment and Sloane Offer.
