Kaitlyn Dever Surprises Tim Allen On Shifting Gears

Here’s one “Last Man Standing” reunion you won’t see on “Shifting Gears.”

Four years after Tim Allen’s previous sitcom wrapped its nine-season run, TV’s erstwhile Mike Baxter enjoyed an unexpected visit from his former TV daughter: Kaitlyn Dever — fka Eve — who surprised him on the set of his current series.

Their sweet reunion was shared by the official “Shifting Gears” Instagram account. In the video, Allen turns the corner into the kitchen, seemingly expecting to find current TV daughter Kat Dennings at the fridge. But instead he’s met by Dever, who pops up and immediately stops him in his tracks. The studio audience gets a real kick out of it, hooting and hollering as Allen pulls his former co-star in for a hug. 

The audience warm-up guy then steps in to confirm their eyes aren’t deceiving them — that is, indeed, “the amazing Kaitlyn Dever,” who has since gone on to widespread acclaim for her Emmy-nominated turns on Hulu’s “Dopesick’ and HBO’s “The Last of Us.” She hugs Dennings, then Allen pulls her in for a second hug before she leaves.

Allen and Dever last appeared on screen together in the 2021 series finale of “Last Man Standing.” At the time, Dever was committed to another production — the film adaptation of Broadway smash “Dear Evan Hansen” — and, due to strict COVID protocols, had to shoot her final Eve scene in isolation from the rest of the cast, appearing only via FaceTime.

“The reason why she could shoot in front of the crew, but not the cast, is because the crew’s all masked,” Kevin Abbott, executive producer of “Last Man,” explained to TVLine at the time. “They shielded up, but the cast [could not], and there was not time to do the proper quarantine procedures.”