Tim Allen’s new sitcom, ‘Shifting Gears’, is about fixing cars and healing families. For the star, it hits close to home.

If anything needs fixing, Tim Allen is your guy – but make sure you have a backup plan.

“I’m good at diagnosing,” Allen told Yahoo Entertainment. “I usually remove it before I fix it.” Case in point: He recently tore apart his daughter’s rowing machine to troubleshoot a problem, only to realize that all it took was the push of a button.

This mix of good intentions and learning as he goes is Allen’s signature, and it’s what cemented him as one of TV’s most beloved fathers. From the tool-wielding Tim Taylor and beyond Home improvement to the clever Mike Baxter on last man standing he’s built a legacy of relatable father figures known for being both handy and howlingly misguided.

Now Allen is back change gear, a new sitcom premiering January 8 on ABC. Only this time things look a little different.

Unlike his previous sitcom roles, Allen’s Matt Parker is a gruff widower whose estranged daughter, played by Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls), moves in with her two children in tow. Together, the family faces the challenges of navigating grief, rebuilding their relationship and healing old wounds.

It’s a plot that hits close to home for Allen, who lost his father in a car accident as a child.

“My dad was a doer,” Allen said. “He always worked hard and we did things with him, whether it was gardening or working on his car. So I’ve always appreciated men who know how to do things.”

It is evident in the roles he plays.

“In every sitcom I’ve done, I’ve always wanted men and women to be best friends and loving,” he said. “Both my parents, my father and mother, were like that before he passed away. I always thought it set the tone for the family.”

Allen knows that sitcoms don’t fully reflect real life.

“At the end of the day, this show is about how wonderful people have terrible things happen to them and they remain human. They don’t fall apart,” he said. “No family gets these things resolved in 24 minutes. Matt is dealing with sadness. He restores cars, but what he really restores is his relationship with his daughter.”

For Dennings, performing with Allen is a full-circle moment.

“It feels like we’ve been doing this for a very long time,” she told Yahoo Entertainment. “Everyone was really happy to see Tim do this again.”

Dennings’ character Riley is as stubborn and strong-willed as her father. Riley is ideologically progressive while Matt leans more conservative. Despite their frequent clashes, they share an openness to learning from each other.

“Their belief systems are very different, but she’s his daughter,” Dennings explained, adding that the moments when their differences come to a head are some of her favorites.

A little on-set humor also helps. Referring to Allen as a “dad joke aficionado,” Dennings said she and the crew are often on the receiving end of his practical jokes—like when he routinely pretends to run into walls to make them laugh.

“It gets me every time,” she said. “It’s fun. He keeps the set very fun.”

Riley is a far cry from Max Black, the snarky, clever waitress Dennings brought to life 2 Broke Girls.

“I have such a different experience with this show, in a good way,” she said. “Now, in my 30s, I feel much more laid back.”

Seann William Scott and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell as Gabriel and Ed, a duo who work at Matt’s car dealership, also round out the cast. They lend humor to the show and play a subtle role in helping Matt forge his relationship with Riley, each in their own way.

“We have two different strengths and it works perfectly,” Mitchell told Yahoo Entertainment of the duo’s onscreen chemistry: Scott’s ability to “dissect scripts” and Mitchell’s talent for “pushing the joke” in their scenes.

Scott joined the show after the pilot had already been shot, replacing a character played by Froy Gutierrez in the pilot. Scott said the cast and crew welcomed him with open arms on set.

“Chill hugged me. He was so kind and so warm,” Scott recalled.

“And starstruck!” interjected Mitchell. “I was over the moon, dude. You walked in that door, I was like, ‘Yo, it’s going down.'”

“I think that’s exactly what you said,” Scott replied, noting that he and Mitchell often add their own “special sauce” to the script.

“There are things that happen in the car business that are just for (our characters), selfish,” he said. “We’ve had fun with it.”

At one point, Mitchell, who uses a wheelchair, playfully teases Allen’s character about the importance of using respectful language when referring to people who use wheelchairs.

“It was a very good teachable moment,” Mitchell said. “A lot of times (people) say things and they don’t mean to be mean, but I’ve learned that people are just ignorant of the facts.”

As for Allen, he said the car business was taking off Change gears is more than just a backdrop. It’s a metaphor for the show’s deeper message.

“I want Matt Parker to be for everybody,” he said. “He lost the love of his life, his daughter is coming back, and in the midst of it all, there’s something about this man who believes that recovery is possible.”

Change gears premieres January 8 at 8pm ET on ABC.