The “Last of Us” star teamed up with Allen’s current TV daughter, Kat Dennings.

Kaitlyn Dever surprises former TV dad Tim Allen with Last Man Standing reunion on Shifting Gears set

The "Last of Us" star teamed up with Allen's current TV daughter, Kat Dennings.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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December 6, 2025 12:38 p.m. ET

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Tim Allen on Nov. 25, 2025; Kaitlyn Dever on Nov. 16, 2025. Credit:

JC Olivera/WWD via Getty; Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty;

- Kaitlyn Dever surprised Tim Allen on the set of *Shifting Gears* in the middle of a take.

- Dever played Allen's TV daughter for nine seasons on his previous sitcom *Last Man Standing*.

- Kat Dennings, who plays Allen's daughter on *Shifting Gears*, was there to celebrate the reunion.

Tim Allen's sitcom daughters recently teamed up to give him a sweet surprise.

Kaitlyn Dever, who played the *Santa Clause *actor's daughter Eve on nine seasons of *Last Man Standing*, visited the set of his current sitcom, *Shifting Gears,* without telling her former TV dad that she'd be stopping by.

In a video shared by the official *Shifting Gears* Instagram, Allen walks on set, seemingly in the middle of a take, and appears stunned when Dever pops up in the soundstage kitchen. After laughing at his shock, he embraces the *Last of Us* actress as the audience cheers.

Meanwhile, Kat Dennings, who plays Allen's daughter Riley on his new ABC sitcom, *Shifting Gears*, can be seen crouching behind the kitchen counter, hiding from the *Toy Story* star, before she, too, celebrates the reunion.

Dever seemed to have been standing in the spot in the kitchen — where she was holding the door of the fridge and peering into it — where Allen expected to find Dennings, while Dennings ducked out of view to trick him.

Kat Dennings, Kaitlyn Dever, and Tim Allen on the set of 'Shifting Gears'.

Shifting Gears/Instagram

"The amazing Kaitlyn Dever!" an announcer tells the applauding studio audience in the video. "Eve from *Last Man Standing*, and a thousand other amazing credits. Kaitlyn Dever, everybody! What a special night here."

Dennings eventually gets up to hug Dever, clapping at the *Booksmart* star and Allen as she pumps her fists and blows a kiss to the audience.

"Some behind-the-scenes love for you: the best surprise," reads the caption for the *Shifting Gears* Instagram account. "Thanks for stopping by, @kaitlyndever!"

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Allen initially shared his excitement about the *Last Man Standing *reunion on X in October. "Kaitlyn Dever stopped by my taping tonite [sic] at *Shifting Gears,*" he wrote at the time. "Such a lucky man. Truly blessed to have worked [with] and loved so many of my cast."

Dever starred with Allen as a series regular for the first six seasons of *Last Man Standing,* from 2011 to 2017. She appeared as a recurring character for its next three seasons, showing up in 12 episodes. The sitcom concluded in 2021.

Tim Allen and Kaitlyn Dever at the 2020 Golden Globes.

Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

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Since ending her time as a series regular on *Last Man Standing*, Dever has headlined films like *Booksmart*, *Rosaline*, and *No One Will Save You*, and played key supporting roles in movies like *Ticket to Paradise*, *Beautiful Boy*, and *Dear Evan Hansen*. On the small screen, she has earned Emmy nominations for shows like *The Last of Us* and *Dopesick*.

Dever will next appear in the films *Godzilla x Kong: Supernova* and *See You When I See You*.

*Shifting Gears* airs new episodes on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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