Shifting Gears is finding a smoother ride in season 2. Shifting Gears' series premiere drew record-breaking audiences for ABC, but critics were less enamored with Tim Allen’s latest sitcom, finding the premise uninspired. Allen played a similar grouchy everyman in Home Improvement and Last Man Standing, and his Shifting Gears character, Matt Parker, is no different in season 1.
However, Allen’s grumpy TV persona is redeemed in Shifting Gears season 2, because Matt’s character is far less isolated. Allen and Kat Dennings lead the cast of Shifting Gears, and while the series is figuring out a better path for Matt, unfortunately, Dennings’ Riley is floundering worse than ever.
Shifting Gears Perfects How To Make Tim Allen’s Schtick Work In 2025
Shifting Gears season 2 has artfully and effectively recalibrated Matt Parker, proving that Tim Allen’s familiar crotchety bit can still land when handled with a lighter touch. Matt is fundamentally the same character Allen has been playing since the early '90s, but the difference now is how the show positions him.
Instead of letting his barbs stand as the punchline, like season 1’s uncomfortable two-for-one diversity hire quip, the writers make it clear that Matt is out of touch, not incisive. This shift is possible because Matt is far less isolated in season 2.
He’s folded more naturally into the rhythms of his daughter Riley (Dennings) and his grandchildren’s lives, and they’re unafraid to call him out. His girlfriend Eve challenges him even more directly, pushing Matt into banter that exposes his blind spots rather than validating them.
Shifting Gears is the best at embracing nostalgia, retaining Allen’s built-in audience. The show reframing Allen’s curmudgeonly charm makes him accessible to a younger, differently attuned audience.
Kat Dennings’ Character Is Directionless & Immature In Shifting Gears Season 2
While Shifting Gears is steadily sharpening Matt Parker’s characterization, Riley’s arc is moving in the opposite direction. Riley is naturally impulsive — a former teenage mom who ran away with a touring musician at 18 — but season 2 hasn’t given her the narrative support needed to mature her beyond that.
Instead, the writing keeps her stuck in the same loop of aimlessness. Her job at Eve’s dance studio created welcome space from her father, yet it did little to help her develop any real sense of direction.
Season 2 briefly teased growth when Riley suddenly discovered a passion for coffee and opened a coffee stand. The idea felt abrupt, but it had thematic promise.
It was a perfect use of the show’s overarching theme — car restoration — that she jerryrigged a faster way to make pour-over coffee to sell at a stand. Matt gifting her her mother’s old van to use as a mobile coffee truck was genuinely touching.
Shifting Gears clearly understands Matt’s flaws and actively shapes the audience’s response to him. With Riley, that guidance is missing. As her choices grow more erratic, it’s unclear how viewers are meant to root for her. She desperately needs a steadier, more coherent arc to feel like the co-lead of Shifting Gears.
