Sometimes, a sitcom hits the gas so hard it crashes right out of the gate—and Shifting Gears with Tim Allen and Kat Dennings is a spectacular wreck. From stale punchlines that limp across the finish line to relentless canned laughter that feels more like a laugh track hostage situation, the show’s attempt at humor falls flat. And if you’re hoping the pairing of these two comedy heavyweights might balance things out, think again. Their lack of chemistry is as jarring as a car engine with no oil—clunky, awkward, and bound to break down.
Shifting Gears premiered on ABC on January 8, 2025, starring Tim Allen as a widowed classic car shop owner and Kat Dennings as his estranged daughter, who moves back home with her kids after a divorce. Produced by 20th Television and led by showrunner Michelle Nader (2 Broke Girls), the show aims to blend family drama with comedy but struggles to find its groove.
Allen’s passion for classic cars influenced the show’s aesthetic, with many vehicles coming from his personal collection. Despite this authenticity, the series relies too heavily on predictable jokes and canned laughter. Even guest stars like Jonathan Taylor Thomas couldn’t inject enough charm to overcome the awkward chemistry between Allen and Dennings.
This show had me dying!.. of cringe.
A rich, conservative old man named Matt (Tim Allen) is left with no choice but to give his daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings), a place to stay after her no good bass playing husband kicks her and her children out. Matt spends the entire episode dogging on Riley’s mistake and guilting her about her mom and Riley’s behavior after her moms untimely and unfortunate passing. But don’t hold your breath for the next best TV drama because this isn’t it.
Every line in the show is joke and they spare no expense to throw shade on any creature that walks this earth. Every word out of Tim Allen’s mouth was just as you’d expect from a Fox fanatic freak and none of it makes sense.
Personal grievances aside, this show sets up with amazing potential. Besides the strange family dynamic, as a TV drama I would’ve dropped everything to watch this if they chose to treat it as such. A father grieving over the loss of his wife must also grieve the loss of his family after his daughter runs away and starts a family of her own completely estranged from her father. They show up out of the blue and proceed to turn his life upside down as he must learn to separate himself from his bachelor life style in order to regain the lost relationship he missed out on with his daughter. The premise is so beautifully poetic but squandered like a prodigy child forced to play football instead. “It’s dark humor, you just don’t get it”. No, I do get it, it’s just not funny. None of the show was funny. Every detail about this broken family is depressing and way too lighthearted for the story being told.
Overall, my review of the show is awful but heed my review knowing I watched it with a bias. Tim Allen’s last good performance in my honest opinion was with the Santa Clause movies and only the first two (seriously wtf were they thinking with that third one). I can’t in good faith give this show a perfect zero so, to rate the next nursing home hit,
1/10 thank God it wasn’t longer
Thanks for reading! If you’re as displeased in this show as I was let me know in the comments! ❤️
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