5 Reasons Tim Allen’s Shifting Gears Reviews Are So Bad

Reviews are out for Shifting Gears, and Tim Allen’s return to TV is massively underperforming with critics. Allen previously led one of the best 90s sitcoms (Home Improvement) and returned in 2011 for a respectable 9-season run of Last Man Standing. The story of Tim Allen’s Shifting Gears seemed like a familiar continuation of his past hits, with leading man Matt partly modeled after Allen himself.

While Tim Allen is undoubtedly the show’s main selling point, it has other heavy hitters like Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls) who plays his estranged daughter, Riley. Dennings’ character and her two children move in with Allen’s Matt, but the father-daughter duo are constantly at odds. Though Shifting Gears is set up like a classic sitcom, reviews have criticized aspects of the plot, writing, and overall execution, with Shifting Gears currently sitting at a “rotten” 45% Rotten Tomatoes score. Choice critics were kinder to the sitcom, but the majority of reviews focused on one of five key concerns.

5

Shifting Gears Doesn’t Try To Be Anything More Than A Simple Sitcom

The New ABC Show Offers Nothing New Of Its Own

Shifting Gears entered ABC’s catalog long after the downfall of classic sitcoms. Many networks and showrunners have attempted to revive the genre in the past decade, but a combination of increased streaming and a turn towards short-form content required fresher ideas. Even popular shows that have sitcom elements are remembered by something else entirely, like Abbott Elementary’s mockumentary format or The Good Place’s notable lack of a laugh track.

Shifting Gears modeling itself after an old-school sitcom has been an unsuccessful endeavor, at least according to reviews. Erik Kain argues it’s either “a rough start, or maybe the classic sitcom is better left in the past” (via Forbes). The concept is nothing radical, but that seems intentional on Shifting Gears’s part. Robert Llyod gives the show grace, conceding that “Formulas are formulas because they give consistent, reliable, unsurprising results.” (via Los Angeles Times).

These Relationship Dynamics Have Been Seen Too Many Times Before

Most defining aspects of Shifting Gears have been done before — for better or worse. The concept of drastically different family members under the same roof has been explored in hits like Modern Family or The Middle, but it’s also been the center of shows like Netflix’s failed Pretty Smart. Even more specifically, fathers and daughters living together in adulthood has already been played out, as recently as NBC’s Lopez vs Lopez.

In general, the story has been criticized as “very predictable, designed for lowest common denominator humor and confirmation bias” (via USA Today). Shifting Gears succeeds in emulating older sitcoms, but what critics see as a lackluster plot stops it from cementing its own identity within the first episodes. There’s still time for Shifting Gears to surprise, but the two episodes sent for review have been, as USA Today continues, “middling.”

3

The Characters Are Only There To Set Up Punchlines For Allen

Aside From Allen, The Characters Don’t Have Enough Character

While Shifting Gears has an impressive array of actors in its ensemble, the sitcom has been criticized for failing to utilize them in favor of prioritizing Tim Allen. Seann William Scott (Gabriel), Kat Dennings, and Barrett Margolis (Georgia) have all been praised for their performances, but complimenting their acting requires a caveat that they are largely sidelined for leading man Matt. Despite the talent, “the ensemble is, thus far, blurring into the blandness” (via Hollywood Reporter).

Considering Allen is an executive producer on Shifting Gears, critics have been harsher on his Matt-centric framing. Many view the focus on Allen as a waste of the other characters who could set Shifting Gears apart from the crowd. Even the female lead, Riley is seen as lacking depth or a fully-realized character, which squanders Shifting Gears’s chance to join the list of best shows about a single mom.

The Lukewarm Political Jokes Don’t Land

The vast majority of jokes in Shifting Gears are delivered by Matt, whose character is seen as merely “one of those common-sense conservatives TV writers lovingly protect from the unpleasant beliefs they may vote for” (via The Daily Beast). Matt follows the formulaic set-up of a father from a different generation whose views are unyielding and apathetic, but Shifting Gears has been criticized for always taking Matt’s side during his “kids these days” rants.

Again, Allen’s EP role comes under scrutiny as the main source to blame for Matt’s conservative-skewing humor that fails to land with a modern audience. Dave Nemetz says Matt’s diatribes “feel like leftover scraps from Allen’s stand-up act, and a few of them hit a sour note” (via TV Line). From Matt discouraging Georgia’s career aspirations to his one-liners lamenting Nancy Pelosi and Uber, reviews say the comedy fails to deliver.

1

Shifting Gears Lives In The Shadows Of Allen’s Former Sitcoms

It Will Always Pale In Comparison To Home Improvement And Last Man Standing​​​​​​​

Perhaps the biggest obstacle for Shifting Gears is growing into something other than “Tim Allen’s new sitcom.” Having such a well-known name promoting the show is a double-edged show: the audience may be there, but viewers will constantly be comparing Shifting Gears to Allen’s previous projects. Thanks to its recency, Last Man Standing is the more popular point of reference.

Most critics had the same takeaway from the first episodes of Shifting Gears, viewing the sitcom as a Tim Allen show for Tim Allen fans. Despite only airing one episode, Shifting Gears has already been denounced as the worst of Allen’s three sitcoms, with the pilot feeling like “Last Man Standing without the guts to come right out and just be Last Man Standing” (via Hollywood Reporter). Though the starting reviews for Shifting Gears were poor, there’s no telling what the future holds for Allen’s sitcom return.

Shifting Gears continues Wednesday at 8 ET on ABC.

Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Beast, TV Line.

Matt, a widowed and stubborn owner of a classic car restoration shop, has his life turned upside down when his estranged daughter, Riley, and her teenage children move in with him.

Release Date

January 8, 2025