‘Shifting Gears’: 5 Things We Need to Happen

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Shifting Gears ended Season 1 on a few cliffhangers. The ABC sitcom follows Matt Parker (Tim Allen), a widowed father who runs a car repair shop and whose daughter Riley (Kat Dennings) and grandchildren (Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis) move in with him after her marriage becomes on the rocks.

The final episode of Season 1 saw Riley’s husband, Jimmy (Lucas Neff), come back into town and tell her that he was offered a spot to open for the Foo Fighters. But first, he asked if she wanted to get back together. Instead of answering him right away, Riley gave him divorce papers by the end of the episode. This led to her childhood best friend/brother’s friend/dad’s coworker, Gabriel (Seann William Scott), confessing his feelings to her. However, she didn’t hear him because she’d fallen asleep on her couch after drinking too much at a party. One of the most shocking things to come out of the finale was that Matt and his rival, Eve (Jenna Elfman), shared a kiss after everyone left the party.

With Shifting Gears returning, here are five things we’re looking forward to (hopefully) seeing.

1. Riley and Gabriel *both* confess their feelings.

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Riley and Gabriel’s relationship is bound to bloom. What with her wondering why Gabriel hasn’t married anyone yet, their past history, and, well, his admission that he has a thing for her, there’s too much there there at this point. There are two problems, though. First, Gabriel is best friends with Riley’s brother, Sammy. If the two of them break up, it could hurt her relationship with her brother. Secondly, Gabriel also works for her dad. Since the car repair shop and Riley’s job are across the street from each other, their relationship could interfere with their work.

2. It’s time to finally see Sammy.

Even though he’s been looming large, viewers have yet to actually see Sammy yet. He was mentioned about two times throughout the season. Aside from Sammy having a one-sided conversation with Riley at the beginning of the season, fans don’t know much about him. Given that he is in the Navy, his return would most likely be a joyful one.

Executive producer Michelle Nader teased the appearance of Sammy in an interview with TVLine. “We hope to introduce Sam.  We think he will be another fun casting opportunity and a great character for everyone to complain to!” she said. Since Sammy hasn’t shown up yet, it is not clear who will play him.

3. We need a flashback of Matt’s wife, Diane.

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Another potential casting opportunity for Season 2 could be Matt’s wife, Diane. The character died before the series started, so she was never seen in Season 1. However, as he moves into a new romance, perhaps fans will get to see a few flashback scenes or even Diane appearing to Matt or Riley in a dream. Matt visited his wife’s grave in Season 1, so she is still very much a part of his mindset, and it’d make total sense for him to turn to his memories of her before trying to truly move on.

4. Matt and Eve become the real deal.

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After Matt and Eve kissed, he seemed shocked. Then, when Riley asked him what he got up to at the party, he didn’t mention the kiss. Judging by his somber reaction, Matt was possibly thinking about his wife. (He was probably also confused because just hours before, Eve was his rival.) Maybe he will go to a grief counselor, or Diane will give him a sign that it’s okay to move on, and he will begin a relationship with Eve. Or they could go back to their respective corners and keep fighting things out.

5. There should be more familiar guest stars.

Disney/Raymond Liu

Tim Allen is known for putting his past costars in his current shows. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who played his son on Home Improvement, showed up in Last Man Standing. Nancy Travis, who played his wife in Last Man Standing, appeared in one episode of Shifting Gears. Jay Leno, who was also a recurring character in Last Man Standing, appeared as himself in one episode of the current sitcom.

So, could other familiar faces show up? Hopefully. After all, there are plenty of other Allen-verse guest stars that we could picture guest-starring on the show. Kat Dennings and Seann Williams Scott both memorably worked with Jennifer Coolidge in the past (in 2 Broke Girls and American Pie, respectively), so what’s stopping her from appearing on an episode or two?

Dennings also worked closely on 2 Broke Girls with Beth Behrs, who is currently on The Neighborhood. She said she would love to have Behrs appear or for her to appear on Behr’s sitcom: “That’d be incredible. The fun thing about Shifting Gears is that we have this car shop set. And anyone could walk in. So yeah, of course, I would love anyone to pop by,” the actress told TVInsider.

What would you like to see happen in Shifting Gears? Let us know in the comments.

Shifting Gears, Streaming, Hulu