Kat Dennings recalls ‘immediately’ trusting her ‘shift gear’ dad Tim Allen: ‘Felt very organic’

It didn’t take long Cat Dennings and Tim Allen to build a bond in real life similar to theirs Change gears daughter-father duo.

“It clicked pretty quickly. We had lunch after I accepted the role and I immediately felt like I could trust him for some reason,” Dennings, 38, exclusively told latest issue of Us Weekly. “And he opened up to me really quickly. So I (was) like, ‘OK, this guy is like letting me in.'”

Dennings went on to explain that her and Allen’s “instant” connection has only gotten stronger.

“For some reason, it just worked right away — maybe because I grew up watching him for so much of my life, but it just worked. It felt very organic,” she recalled. “And as (filming has) progressed, our scenes are so much fun, if I do say so myself. The arguments are my favorite scenes to play because I’m not afraid. There’s no fear for either of us. We just go right after that and it’s so much fun.”

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Change gearspremiering Wednesday, January 8 on ABC, follows widower Matt (Allen) and his estranged daughter, Riley (Dennings), as they live together and working to repair their relationship. The sitcom marks Dennings’ return to multi-camera comedy nearly a decade after playing Max on CBS’ hit show 2 Broke Girls from 2011 to 2017.

“I felt scared at first because so much time had passed. I felt like I forgot everything. So as soon as we started the first shoot, it was like I’d never left. It was so crazy,” shared Dennings. “I really worked on it. I was really in my head with it. Then it felt so organic. I feel like I never stopped working with multicam. I love it, I really do.”

Behind the scenes, Change gear reunited Dennings with the showrunner Michelle Naderwho has previously worked with her on 2 Broke Girls and Hulu’s Doll face. The Easter eggs don’t stop there either, with a guest appearance from Dennings’ former Dollface costar Brenda sang – and that’s just the beginning.

“Brenda is one of my best friends in real life because we met Dollhouse and then Michelle is ours Change gear show runner. And Brenda and I always talked about doing a multicam together. We’d joke like, ‘Wouldn’t that be great though? So she did it (a 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 will be people who are really incredible. I think Michelle put in a few special little references for me throughout the series.”

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In addition to Dennings and Allen, 71, Change gear also stars Seann William Scott, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis. Before the season even premiered, fans were pick up on the potential chemistry between Denning’s and Scott’s characters.

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

As she reflects on her time on set of Change gear so far, Dennings called filming a “magical situation,” adding, “I was talking to a friend and I wasn’t sure what to do now. She thought, ‘Well if you could just describe your dream project, what would so be it?’ I thought, ‘I’d love to do a sitcom again.’

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She concluded, “It was shocking. I’m still weird about it because I feel like I wanted it and there it was. So 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’s just been so amazing and I feel very lucky.”

For more from Dennings about her next sitcom chapter, download the new issue of Us Weeklyon stands now.

Change gear premieres on ABC on Wednesday, January 8 at 8 p.m. ET, before streaming the next day on Hulu.