ABC Officially Seals the Fate of Tim Allen’s Shifting Gears After 2 Seasons

ABC Officially Seals the Fate of Tim Allen’s Shifting Gears After 2 Seasons

Fans of the ABC sitcom Shifting Gears have been waiting for months to see if the series would be returning for a third season on the network. Finally, the show’s future has been officially sealed, and it’s excellent news for fans.

Per Deadline, Shifting Gears has gotten the official renewal order for Season 3. It was one of two shows to be renewed this week, as the Scrubs revival also secured a second season. Meanwhile, the new procedural R.J. Decker remains on the bubble, making it the network’s only scripted series that is still awaiting its fate to be revealed. The show’s odds of a renewal are described as 50-50, as the ratings are not quite as high as the network would like, despite a strong opening.

Shifting Gears Will Return for Season 3

It was expected that Shifting Gears would eventually be renewed. The show is ABC’s most watched comedy series on linear programming, with its Season 2 finale hitting the best multiplatform viewership since the fall premiere. Still, no information has been revealed just yet about the episode count for Season 3. Notably, the first season had 10 episodes, and Season 2 saw a slight increase with 13 episodes.

The Scrubs revival debuted with a bang, ranking as the highest-rated comedy telecast of any network for the current television season in the key demo of Adults 18-49. It pulled in over 11 million viewers across multiple platforms in its first 35 days. Nostalgia certainly played a big part in the reboot’s success, given that several returning stars from the original show are featured.

If R.J. Decker isn’t renewed, there’s a strong chance that a new spinoff of The Rookie will be ordered for the 2026-27 television season. Dubbed The Rookie: North, the pilot has been well received behind the scenes. Due to budgetary concerns, ABC is likely to pick one or the other for the fall TV season, but it’s nevertheless not impossible for both to be chosen. However, if R.J. Decker gets renewed alongside The Rookie: North being ordered to series, the network would need to slash episode counts for other shows to help pay for it all.

Shifting Gears Has Been a Hit for ABC

Shifting Gears launched on ABC in early 2025. Tim Allen stars as Matt Parker, a widower running his own auto restoration shop. His life drastically changes once again when his estranged daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings), moves in along with her two children, Carter (Maxwell Simkins) and Georgia (Barrett Margolis). Seann William Scott and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell also star in their respective roles as Gabriel and Stitch, two of Matt’s employees.

The show was created by Julie Thacker Scully and Mike Scully. The two also executive produce alongside Allen, John Pasquin, Richard Baker, Rick Messina, Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, John Amodeo, Michelle Nader, Bob Daily, and Jim Patterson.

Shifting Gears is streaming on Hulu.