ABC handed “Shifting Gears” a third-season pickup on Thursday, locking the Tim Allen and Kat Dennings sitcom into the 2026-27 schedule and keeping Parker Restorations open for another run.
The renewal, first reported by Deadline, arrived alongside a Season 2 order for the “Scrubs” revival. Both shows are produced by 20th Television, and both earned their pickups on ratings, not sentiment. That leaves freshman drama “R.J. Decker” as the only ABC scripted series still waiting on word.
Numbers, not vibes. “Shifting Gears” averaged 5.4 million viewers with seven days of DVR playback this season, per The Hollywood Reporter, climbing to roughly 7 million per episode once streaming was folded in. That made it the most-watched comedy on ABC’s linear lineup. The Season 2 finale in February pulled the show’s biggest multiplatform audience since the fall premiere.
The cast made the announcement themselves. In a video posted to the show’s official X account Thursday, Dennings led the reveal, with Seann William Scott, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins, and Barrett Margolis, who plays Matt’s granddaughter Georgia, each saying the number three, per ScreenRant. Dennings, who also produces, marked the news on Instagram with a brief “See you soon!” Jenna Elfman, who recurs as Matt’s love interest Eve, replied with three fire emojis.
Allen, 72, is back in the half-hour multi-cam space he’s worked for decades. He plays Matt Parker, a widowed classic-car restorer whose estranged daughter Riley, played by Dennings, moves into his house with her two kids. The show was created by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully, with Michelle Nader running the room.
Season 2 ran 13 episodes, up from 10 in the freshman run after ABC ordered three additional installments last September. No episode count for Season 3 has been announced yet, and Deadline reports the network is again likely to go with a shorter order.
The February finale left the show with two open questions. Matt chased Eve to the airport in a grand-gesture move that put them back together. Riley ended up at the center of a love triangle, with Gabe (Scott) showing up to make his feelings known just as her ex Andy, played by Jesse Williams, was trying to win her back.
Season 2 leaned hard into guest casting. Jay Leno turned up. So did Mookie Betts, Pamela Adlon, Brenda Song, and “Bros” star Luke Macfarlane, who played Matt’s son Sam. Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn, and Debbe Dunning, all from “Home Improvement,” appeared in the season premiere, the latest in a series of nostalgia-fueled cameos Allen has pulled into the show.
Margolis, who plays Georgia opposite Simkins as her brother Carter, has quietly been one of the show’s most reliable scene-stealers, anchoring the kid-side material that gives the multi-cam its family-comedy spine. She’s been a series regular from the pilot.
Allen executive produces with Nader, Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina, John Pasquin, Jim Patterson, Bob Daily, and John Amodeo. The series shoots at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.
The renewal lands on a busy stretch for Allen, who’s also reprising Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s “Toy Story 5” this summer.
Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Hulu. Season 3 is set for the 2026-27 season on ABC.
