ABC picks up Tim Allen comedy series, but will hire new showrunners

ABC has taken over production of a film starring Tim Allen Shifting gears to the series, but will continue without the writers who created it.

Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully are leaving the comedy centered on Matt (Allen), a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration business. When Matt’s estranged daughter Riley (Kat Dennings) and her kids move into his house, the real renovation begins.

It’s unclear who will replace the Scullys, but Deadline understands that Allen has been searching for a successor as showrunner for weeks.

Shifting gears also stars Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Stitch, Maxwell Simkins as Carter, and Barrett Margolis as Georgia. The previously announced role of Nick is being recast and will be announced at a later date.

In March, Deadline exclusively announced that Allen, the star of Home improvement AND Last Man Standingwas returning to ABC with a new multi-camera sitcom. Allen is an executive producer along with Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina and John Pasquin, who also directed the pilot. He is from 20th Television.

The Scullys are executive producers on the pilot. Dennings is a producer.

Shifting gears marked ABC’s first pilot order this season. Allen’s last network comedy, Last Man Standingstarted on ABC, where it aired for six seasons before being canceled. It was then picked up by Fox (then 20th Television’s sister station before the studio was acquired by Disney, ABC’s parent company) and aired for three more seasons.