Nancy Travis Explains Her Big ‘Shifting Gears’ Decision, Sparking Fan Uproar Over Tim Allen Reunion.

Last Man Standing’s Nancy Travis Doesn’t Want to Be Tim Allen’s ‘Shifting Gears’ Wife: ‘Too Meta’ (Exclusive)

Nancy Travis and Tim Allen. Michael Becker / FOX

After playing Tim Allen‘s wife for nearly 10 years on Last Man Standing, Nancy Travis was excited to try something new when they reunited on ABC’s Shifting Gears.

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Travis broke down her guest appearance on Shifting Gears, which airs Wednesday, February 12.

“I got a call that there was a part that they wanted me for and I love that they created this relationship with the role of Charlotte. She is not this cliché of a wife or a girlfriend,” Travis, 63, teased. “[Instead it is] like two ships passing in the night [with Charlotte and Matt]. They really affect the trajectory of each other’s lives —probably more so for Matt.”

Travis enjoyed getting to share the screen with Allen, 71, again, adding, “Charlotte is a catalyst for him. It was fun to play the role of someone who has a shared experience with Tim’s character, which is true in real life. We shared the experience of making Last Man Standing and at the same time my Shifting Gears character is a stranger — just somebody that Matt meets who can inform his life.”

The Shifting Gears reunion marks the first time Allen and Travis will share the screen since ABC’s Last Man Standing. On the sitcom, which aired from 2011 to 2021, Allen and Travis played a fictional couple: Mike and Vanessa Baxter.

After Last Man Standing came to an end, Allen returned to the comedy space with Shifting Gears, which premiered last month. The show follows Allen’s character, a widower, as he reconnects with his estranged daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings). Wednesday’s episode is Valentine’s Day-themed, as Allen’s character Matt bonds with Charlotte, whom he meets while visiting his late wife’s grave.

Michael Becker/FOX

“It was great not to play the wife [this time]. It was great. It was really fun to be able to just come in and have a whole wealth of knowledge and rapport working with Tim. In terms of comedic rhythm, knowing how to set up a joke and how to tell a story together, it was great to be able to take that and apply it to Charlotte,” Travis noted. “You wonder how Nancy Travis is going to come back into this Shifting Gears world and I think it’s a unique and clever way that they’ve engineered this.”

Some Last Man Standing fans were hoping Travis could become Allen’s onscreen wife again after Us broke the news of her casting. Travis, however, isn’t sure she would want to recreate a dynamic that came about so effortlessly on Last Man Standing.

“I do enjoy working with him but I think that it’s fun to explore new and different relationships between characters. It is very meta —maybe too meta,” she told Us. “I really like what they created, which is a soulmate friend. Maybe it’s like the ghost of his ex-wife — Vanessa — who comes in the spirit of somebody else. But I like the nuances of what they created with this different relationship.”

Travis wouldn’t rule out another return to Shifting Gears though.

“Tim loves what he does and it’s almost like he’s the host of a party. But at the same time, he is very conscientious and really wants to tell whatever story it is in a very affecting way — comedically and emotionally and truthfully,” she explained. “So he’s a great scene partner in that way. Also everybody just has a really great time on set and it is like being at a party.”

While Travis is Allen’s first former costar to make an appearance, she told Us there was no pressure to appear alongside her former TV husband, adding, “I felt the opposite. I showed up and there was such an inviting and warm feeling being there. We just had a good time working together and everybody enjoyed watching us. It was just a very kind, fun and warm group.”

She concluded: “Even coming from the other actors that I hadn’t worked with before. I just felt like I was part of this show — even though I’m not. So that’s a testament to the people that are part of Shifting Gears — including showrunner Michelle Nader. … Kat Dennings was fantastic, by the way. I didn’t really have any scenes with her but just my interactions with her on the set. She’s just warm and funny and fantastic. It’s a lovely show.”

Shifting Gears airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.