There’s a comforting nostalgia factor to sitcoms filmed in front of a live studio audience, a format broadcast television essentially turned its back on. Streaming platforms have discovered that this specific brand of sitcom are among the most-binged types of shows. This past fall TV season saw the genre's return on CBS (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, Poppa’s House) and NBC (Happy’s Place). Now ABC is getting back in the game with the January 8th premiere of Shifting Gears. Leaning into the nostalgia of it all, the series is headlined by two of the format’s veterans – Tim Allen (Home Improvement, Last Man Standing) and Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls).
Matt Parker (Tim Allen) is the gruff, widowed owner of a custom car restoration garage. Riley (Kat Dennings) is his estranged daughter whose marriage didn’t have the longevity she thought it would, forced to move back in with her dad. While Riley works to get back on her feet, Matt finds himself taking a parental role to his grandchildren, Carter (Maxwell Simkins, Mighty Ducks: Game Changers) and Georgia (Barrett Margolis), finding that modern parenting is a bit different than it was when he was raising Riley.
The premiere episode of Shifting Gears, titled “Restoration,” does a lot of heavy lifting to establish the premise and history of Matt and Riley. The comedy in the premiere feels a little more forced than in the second episode, “Accommodations” (airing January 15th), which feels like a much better showcase of what the show is capable of. All ingredients are there for Shifting Gears to be great, but like most sitcoms, it will take a few episodes for the show to find its stride.
Tim Allen and Kat Dennings both find themselves in familiar roles and in that regard, viewers will find that Shifting Gears has a powerful message about unity. While the first two episodes don’t overtly state the politics of either character, there are enough context clues to inform viewers that Matt leans right and Riley is left. Therein lies some of the show’s comedy to be mined, but also its emotional resonance. In the premiere episode, as both characters cope with living together without their deceased keeper of the peace, both actors also get to dabble in dramatic scenes. Tim Allen, in particular, showcases some raw vulnerability at the end of the first episode.
The show’s title naturally lends itself to both the premise and setting. The supporting cast includes Sean William Scott (American Pie, Welcome to Flatch) as Gabriel, one of Matt’s employees and Riley’s old high school classmate. Their past feels a bit like Ross and Rachel from Friends, with Matt having feelings for Riley that can be traced back to their youth, and Riley having chosen a different guy that things didn’t work out with. It’s one of those essential sitcom tropes, which adds to the nostalgic feel of the series.
Shifting Gears is equal parts old meets new, just like the classic cars the characters restore. The format is comfort food, while the situations are current. The show feels like a rose-colored mirror of America’s polarized society at the moment, one that has the potential to heal the divide. It’s much better than I thought it could be. Predictable yet funny, Shifting Gears is the type of show you’ve been craving.
I give Shifting Gears 4 out of 5 GTOs.
Shifting Gears premieres Wednesday, January 8th, at 8/7c on ABC. Episodes will stream on Hulu (and Disney+ with a bundle) the day after broadcast.