ABC releases first look at Shifting Gears Season 2 highlighting Matt Parker’s next chapter

Matt and Riley's chaotic father-daughter duo will be back on ABC in Shifting Gears Season 2 on October 1, 2025. The sitcom follows Matt Parker (Tim Allen), an auto restoration shop owner, whose life suddenly changes when his estranged daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings), shows up at his doorstep with her two children.

Throughout Season 1, Matt and Riley worked past their differences and realized that while they have their differences, they are quite similar. The sophomore season will continue to explore their evolving relationship, which will be further tested in the upcoming installment.

In addition to Matt's relationship with his daughter, Shifting Gears Season 2 will also explore his complicated love life. Tim Allen's fans will see the sitcom veteran in a new avatar, as his character will juggle between two potential love interests. Matt will undergo a journey of grief, love, and loss in the sitcom's upcoming outing.

More on this in our story.

Shifting Gears Season 2: All about Matt Parker's romance in the new season

ABC's Shifting Gears Season 2 is giving a new direction to its veteran star, Tim Allen, whose character will be seen in complicated relationships in the upcoming season. As a network veteran, Allen has always been happily married in all of his previous sitcoms, like Home Improvement and Last Man Standing. However, ABC is shifting gears (pun intended) and introducing a romantic plotline for the single Matt Parker.

Shifting Gears Season 2 will open with Matt Parker in mourning. The character will be seen on the grave site of his late wife, and the premiere episode will explore Matt's grief and loss. However, he will soon be joined by Nancy Travis' Charlotte, the woman he met with on Valentine's Day in Season 1. It seems like Matt and Charlotte are not done, as Allen's character will be spending more time with her in the new season.

To make things more interesting for Matt, Jenna Elfman's Eve Drake will also return in Season 2, after her steamy kiss with the auto restoration shop owner. After butting heads throughout the Shifting Gears Season 1 finale, Eve found some liquid courage and finally kissed Matt. While this surely complicates his equation with Charlotte, you cannot deny his chemistry with Eve either.

Unlike Allen's previous characters, Matt Parker will have two love interests in Shifting Gears Season 2. In an interview with Us Weekly, the Home Improvement actor revealed that the sophomore season will explore the next chapter in Matt's life after his wife's death:

“From the very beginning, [the creative team has said] that we’ve never seen Tim Allen in a sitcom with a romantic interest. And I said, ‘Well, I’ve just lost my wife, so I don’t see it.’ So I love where we are.''

He added:

“I said, ‘If it happens over time and happens organically with two people that do not get along, then it is OK.’ I just am really cautious about this. I just want it to happen where it’s organic and proper.”

Shifting Gears Season 2 will feature a Home Improvement reunion

Tim Allen is gearing up for the next chapter in Matt's life in Shifting Gears Season 2, and the actor will be supported by some familiar faces.

The upcoming chapter of the sitcom will feature a small Home Improvement reunion as Rachel (Patricia Richardson), Debbie (Debbe Dunning), and Robbie (Richard Karn) will cross paths with Matt and Charlotte in Season 2. The Home Improvement alums will play a trio of guest characters who will unexpectedly support Matt.

The veteran sitcom fans are eagerly waiting for Tim Taylor, Jill Taylor, Al Borland, and Heidi Keppert to reunite on-screen again.

Tune into the Shifting Gears Season 2 premiere on ABC on October 1, 2025.

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