It didn't take long Kat Dennings And Tim Allen To create a real life bond similar to them Shifting gears Father-daughter pair.

“It clicked pretty quickly. We had lunch after I accepted the role and I felt like I could trust him for some reason,” Dennings, 38, shares exclusively. Its new number our weekly. "And he opened up to me really quickly. So I (was) 'OK, this guy's like letting me in.'"

Dennings went on to explain that his and Allen's There is only "instant" connection has become stronger.

"For some reason it worked so immediately — maybe because I grew up watching him so much of my life, but it worked. It felt very organic," he recalls. "And as (filming) progressed, our scenes were very funny, if I Say it yourself. I have no fear of arguments. We just go for it and it's great fun."

Shifting gearswhich premieres Wednesday, Jan. 8 on ABC, follows widowed father Matt (Allen) and his estranged daughter, Riley (Dennings), as they find themselves living together and They work to repair their relationship. The sitcom identifies Dennings Back to multi-camera comedies Almost a decade after playing Max on the CBS hit show 2 Break Girls From 2011 to 2017.

“I was scared at first because it was so long. I seemed to have forgotten everything. Then as soon as we started taking the first one it was like I never left. It was so crazy,” Dennings shared. “I really worked myself into it. I was really in my head about it. Then it felt so organic. I don't think I stopped working on multicam. I love it, I really do."

behind the scenes, Shifting gears Dennings reunites with showrunner Michelle NaderWho has worked with him before 2 Break Girls and Hulu's Dollface. Easter eggs don't stop There is, with a guest appearance by Dennings' former dollface costar Brenda Gunn - and it's only the beginning.

“Brenda is one of my best friends in real life since we met doll house And then Michelle us Shifting gears The showrunner and Brenda and I always talked about doing multicam together. We would joke, 'Wouldn't that be great though? So she did (a guest spot) because we just wanted to hang out,” Dennings teased of the upcoming episode. “I can't reveal too many guest stars but there will be people who are really incredible. I think Michelle has a few special little references for me throughout the series."

Besides Dennings and Allen, 71, Shifting gears Also they Sean William Scott, Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins And Barrett Margolis. Even before the season premiere, there were fans Pick up on potential chemistry Between the characters of Dennings and Scott.

"What I think personally — because it's one of my favorite things — is that I'm on board to expand it," she told Us of the potential fictional romance. "The best onscreen relationships are when they stretch it out over many, many, many seasons because then the culmination is so satisfying. Hopefully — if we're lucky enough to go many seasons — it will take that long."

Time to reflect His time on set Shifting gears So far, Dennings has called filming a "magical situation," adding, "I was talking to a friend and I wasn't sure what to do next. He was like, 'Well if you could describe your dream project, it would be What will happen?' I was like, 'I want to do a sitcom again.' I just described this exact scenario, then the next day, I got the call about this."

She concluded: "It was shocking. I'm still weird about it because I think I wished for it and it was there. That's how it happened. And I grew up watching (Tim's show) Home Improvement so I thought of being his daughter. I was very excited about it. It's been great and I feel very lucky."

To hear more from Dennings about her next sitcom chapter, pick up Its new problem our weeklyNow on the stand.

Shifting gears premieres on ABC Wednesday, January 8, at 8 pm ET before streaming on Hulu the following day.