Shifting Gears’ Kat Dennings felt an “instant” trust with Tim Allen

It didn’t take long Kat Dennings and Tim Allen build a real bond similar to theirs Gear shifting father-daughter duo.

“It clicked pretty quickly. When I accepted the role, we were having lunch and I immediately felt that I could trust him for some reason,” Dennings, 38, said. latest edition My Weekly. “And he opened up to me really quickly. So I (was) like, ‘Okay, this guy wants to let me in.'”

Dennings further explained that she and Allen It only has “instant” connection intensified.

“For some reason, it worked pretty instantly — maybe because I grew up watching him for so much of my life, but it just worked. It was very organic,” she recalled. “And as (filming) progressed, our scenes are so much fun, if I do say so myself. The fights are my favorite scenes because I’m not scared. Neither of us are scared. We just go with it and it’s so much fun.”

Gear shiftingpremiering Wednesday, Jan. 8 on ABC, follows widowed father Matt (Allen) and his estranged daughter Riley (Dennings) as they live together and they are working on repairing their relationship. A sitcom in the style of Dennings a return to multi-camera comedy nearly a decade after playing Max on CBS’ hit show 2 Broke Girls from 2011 to 2017.

“I was scared at first because it had been so long. I felt like I had forgotten everything. Once we started the first take, it was like I never left. It was so crazy,” Dennings said. “I really worked my way through it. It really blew my mind. Then it felt so organic. I feel like I never stopped doing multicam. I love it, I really do.”

Behind the scenes, Gear shifting Dennings reunited with the showrunner Michelle Naderwho previously worked with her 2 Broke Girls and Hulu’s Doll face. Easter eggs don’t end be there, with a guest appearance from Dennings’ former co-star Dollface Brenda Song — and that’s just the beginning.

“Brenda is one of my best friends in real life since we met A doll house and then Michelle is ours Gear shifting showrunner. And Brenda and I always talked about multicam together. We’d joke like, ‘Wouldn’t that be great? So she did that (guest spot) because we just want to hang out,” Dennings said, teasing the upcoming episode. “I can’t reveal too many guest stars, but there are people coming who are really incredible. I think Michelle put a few special little links for me throughout the series.”

In addition to Dennings and Allen, 71, Gear shifting stars too Seann William Scott, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis. Even before the season premiered, fans were picking up potential chemistry between the characters of Dennings and Scott.

“Personally, I think — because it’s one of my favorite things, too — that I’m on board and stretching it,” she told us of the potential fictional romance. “The best on-screen relationships are when they stretch out over many, many, many seasons, because then the payoff is so satisfying. Hopefully, if we’re lucky enough to go many seasons, it will last that long.”

When thinking about her time on set Gear shifting So far, Dennings has described the shoot as a “magical situation”, adding: “I was talking to a friend and I wasn’t sure what to do next. She said, “If you could describe your dream project, what would it be?” I was like, ‘I’d like to do a sitcom again.’ I just described this exact scenario. Then the next day they called me about it.”

She concluded: “It was shocking. I’m still weird about it because I feel like I wished for it and it was. That’s how it happened. And I grew up watching (Tim’s show) Home Improvement, so I was very excited about the idea of ​​being his daughter. It was just fantastic and I feel very happy.”

For more from Dennings on her sitcom’s next chapter, pick up new number My Weeklyon racks now.

Gear shifting premieres on ABC on Wednesday, January 8 at 8:00 PM ET and will stream on Hulu the following day.