For the better part of the past decade, Tim Allen was front and center on network TV with the sitcom Last Man Standing, which saw him playing the father of three daughters. The actor, along with his fictional wife Nancy Travis, certainly bonded with their younger co-stars, including Amanda Fuller, Molly McCook, and especially Kaitlyn Dever, whom Allen viewed as his honorary kiddo in some ways. Now, the actor is set to bring his newest TV venture to audiences, Disney+’s holiday spinoff The Santa Clauses, for which he worked with his real-world daughter Elizbeth Allen-Dick. But was that more of a gift or the equivalent of a box of coal?
Perhaps predictably, Tim Allen was not at all displeased to essentially turn Bring Your Daughter to Work Day into a semi-permanent event, with Elizabeth Allen-Dick joining The Santa Clauses core cast in the logical role of Scott Calvin’s youngest child, Sandra Calvin-Claus. And when speaking to E! News about the Christmas-geared offshoot, Allen took a moment to praise his daughter and spoke highly of his experience working with her, saying:
You know, it's been such an organic experience, and overzealously, it's great to work with, there's no question about it. It was life-changing for me.
While it might be a nightmare situation for some parents to imagine dealing with their kids on a professional basis on top of all things personal, but Allen makes it sound like his Santa Clauses experience was a Christmas gift in and of itself, even if the show wasn’t actually filmed during the winter season. The fact that this is Allen-Dick’s very first acting role could have played into a bevy of potential issues on the set, but it doesn’t sound like any such hiccups went down. At least nothing hectic enough to bring up ahead of release.
The Home Improvement vet revealed how Elizabeth Allen-Dick joined the show in the first place, since it certainly wasn’t a case where the role was created for her. She apparently blew out the competition during the unforeseen audition process. In Allen’s words:
I auditioned the girls to be my daughter, as well as the other head elves, and she got in there because I really wanted her in the background. And they say, ‘Well, she’ll have to read,’ and I go, ‘Well she can read whatever she wants.’ And she read it, and even I went, ‘...wow.’ You don’t know what to say, because everybody looked at me, and I go, ‘No, I’m out of this. I don’t want to get involved in this nepotism.’
While I’m sure her biological connection to the franchise’s ever-popular star didn’t exactly hurt her chances, Elizabeth Allen-Dick seemingly won the role outright with just her skills. It’s awesome that acting talents run in the family. Now when do we get a youth-centric Last Girl Standing spinoff with her in the lead?
The Santa Clauses cast also includes returning film stars Elizabeth Mitchell as Carol Calvin/Mrs. Clause, Eric Lloyd as Charlie Calvin, Austin Kane as Buddy Calvin, and David Krumholtz as the fan-favorite elf Bernard. New faces beyond Allen’s daughter will include Kal Penn as a Jeff Bezos-esque product developer, Matilda Lawler as Santa’s chief of staff, and NCIS vet Laura San Giacomo getting fantastical as Befana the Christmas Witch. Check out the series’ first trailer below!
Everyone with a Disney+ subscription can watch The Santa Clauses’ debut on Wednesday, November 16, with its first two episodes ready for bingeing, with weekly releases from that point on. Head to our 2022 TV premiere to see what other new and returning shows are on the way.
