If you spent 2024 scrolling through your streaming apps looking for a fresh dose of Tim Allen's signature "grunt-heavy" humor, you probably felt a little stood up. There’s a good reason for that. Everyone was talking about his big comeback, but if you look at the actual calendar, the year was more about the "hustle behind the scenes" than actual airtime.
He’s back. Sorta.
Actually, he never really left, but 2024 was a weird transitional bridge for the guy who basically built the modern sitcom dad blueprint. While the internet was buzzing with rumors about Home Improvement reboots or immediate Santa Clauses updates, the reality was much more focused on a specific project called Shifting Gears.
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The Shifting Gears Situation: Why 2024 Was the Year of the Pilot
Most people searching for tim allen shows 2024 were expecting a premiere date. Instead, what we got was a "pilot order." For those not in the TV industry, that basically means ABC said, "Hey Tim, write a script and film one episode, and we’ll see if it doesn't suck."
It didn't suck.
ABC greenlit the show in the spring of 2024. This was a massive deal because it marked Allen's third major sitcom at the network, following the legendary run of Home Improvement and the early years of Last Man Standing.
Here’s the breakdown of what Shifting Gears actually is:
- The Character: Allen plays Matt, a widower who owns a classic car restoration shop.
- The Twist: His estranged daughter, Riley, moves back in with her own teenage kids.
- The Co-Star: Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls) plays the daughter. This is a smart casting move—her dry, sarcastic wit is the perfect foil for Allen’s "old-school" energy.
Throughout 2024, production was in high gear. We saw the first official images of Allen and Dennings standing together in the shop late in the year. But if you were looking to actually watch it in 2024, you were out of luck. The show was officially slotted for a January 8, 2025, premiere. So, 2024 was the year of the "making of," not the "watching of."
Whatever Happened to The Santa Clauses Season 3?
This is where things got a bit messy for fans. After The Santa Clauses Season 2 wrapped up in late 2023, everyone assumed Disney+ would just keep the sleigh moving.
They didn't.
During 2024, the status of the show was basically "radio silence." Disney didn't officially cancel it, but they didn't rush to renew it either. A lot of industry insiders, including folks over at Deadline and TVLine, suggested that Tim's schedule with Shifting Gears pushed the North Pole to the back burner.
Honestly, it makes sense. You can’t really film a classic multi-cam sitcom in Los Angeles and a high-production fantasy series in a "snowy" studio at the same time without losing your mind. As of late 2024, rumors were swirling that we might see Scott Calvin again in 2025 or 2026, but the "2024 season" simply never materialized.
The Toy Story 5 Buzz
You can't talk about Tim Allen without Buzz Lightyear. In February 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed Toy Story 5 was in the works.
Fast forward through 2024, and Allen spent a good chunk of his year in and out of recording booths or doing "pre-vis" work for the film. While Toy Story 5 isn't a "show," it dominated his professional life this past year. It’s one of those projects that takes years of quiet work before we see a single trailer.
Reruns and the "Last Man Standing" Ghost
Interestingly, even without a "new" show on the air for most of the year, Tim Allen was still one of the most-watched people on TV in 2024.
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Last Man Standing and Home Improvement are absolute juggernauts in syndication. Whether it’s CMT, Hallmark, or various streaming platforms like Hulu and Disney+, Mike Baxter and Tim Taylor are constantly playing in the background of American living rooms.
It’s a weird kind of fame. You don’t need a new show to be relevant when your old shows are essentially "digital wallpaper" for millions of people.
What to Actually Do Now
If you’re looking for your Tim Allen fix and you’re tired of waiting for the 2025 rollout, here is how to handle the current landscape:
- Check out "More Power": If you missed his History Channel series with Richard Karn (Al Borland!), find it. It’s basically Tool Time in real life and aired recently enough to feel fresh.
- Stream "The Santa Clauses" Season 2: If you only saw the first season, the second one actually goes deeper into the lore of the "Mad Santa" and is worth a binge if you're feeling nostalgic.
- Set your DVR for ABC: Shifting Gears is the real deal. It’s a multi-cam sitcom, which is a dying breed, but with the Last Man Standing producers behind it, it’s the closest thing we’re getting to a "classic" Allen experience.
The bottom line? 2024 was the quiet before the storm. It was a year of building car sets, recording space ranger lines, and negotiating contracts. If you felt like he was missing, just wait—2025 is clearly designed to be the year he takes back the Tuesday/Wednesday night comedy blocks.
Actionable Insight: Keep an eye on ABC’s midseason promos. Shifting Gears is being positioned as a lead-in for Abbott Elementary, which suggests the network has massive confidence in Allen’s ability to pull in the "old-school" crowd to support their newer hits.