Note: This story contains spoilers from “Shifting Gears” Episode 6.
“Shifting Gears” reunited star Tim Allen with his “Last Man Standing” wife Nancy Travis, a welcome return for the actress to the world of broadcast sitcoms.
The actress, who played Vanessa Baxter on the ABC-turned-Fox comedy series from 2011-21, guest starred on Wednesday’s episode of “Shifting Gears” as a widow who stumbles upon Matt (Allen) visiting his wife’s gravesite on Valentine’s Day. Though some of the familiar sparks fly between the TV duo, their interaction remains platonic — at least for now.
“I got to work with Tim again, not in the role of a wife or a girlfriend, but as a stranger who shares a similar past and is a catalyst for him moving forward after the death of his wife in the show,” Travis told TheWrap of the guest role. “It was a very, very interesting character, and I was really excited to jump in and do these scenes with Tim.”
Travis said starring in the sitcom felt like a homecoming, as many of the crew involved in making “Shifting Gears” previously worked on “Last Man Standing” as well as Allen’s “Home Improvement.” The episode had no absence of laughs, but it was a joke referencing Travis’ and Allen’s “Last Man Standing” history that got the most laughs from the studio audience.
After Matt and Charlotte meet again in a grocery store she had recommended, she encourages him to find people to talk to about his grief — whether a support group or potentially a date. He makes it clear that while he sees the chemistry between them he’s not ready to pursue anything romantically.
Charlotte responds that it could never work between them, because he reminds her of the last man she dated.
“It got the biggest laugh. Everyone feels like they’re in on something. It just feels incredibly inclusive,” Travis said. “People that come to a lot of the tapings, I would imagine, are big fans of Tim’s as well as Kat Dennings. But they come to expect certain things, and when they see an actor that he’s worked with before on the show, they’re looking for the wink moment, the inside joke … I remember there were a lot of jokes like that when Pat Richardson was on ‘Last Man Standing.’”
Though Travis’ visit to “Shifting Gears” was only set for one episode this season, the actress would be open to returning as Charlotte in the future and continuing to celebrate the “Last Man Standing” legacy in the process.
“In a lot of ways, Charlotte is a more mature Vanessa and she has a very sharp wit. She knows her subject matter, Matt, very well, and is able to call him on his transgressions and just joke with him in sometimes a very ruthless way,” Travis said.
Beyond “Shifting Gears,” Travis will next star in the NBC drama series “Grosse Pointe Garden Society.” The show, which also stars Melissa Fumero, Aja Naomi King, Ben Rappaport and AnnaSophia Robb, premieres Sunday, Feb. 23.
“It’s very much like a ‘Desperate Housewives,’ a thrilling comedic dramedy that is about a very small, little insular town, and this little garden society where people are so far in each other’s business that the only thing that could happen is a lot of trouble and, of course, murder,” Travis teased.
“Shifting Gears” airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
