Tim Allen Shared An A+Video After Shifting Gears Already Hit A Major Milestone: 'That Was A Little Weak'

A number of fresh titles have already dropped amid the 2025 TV schedule, and one of those is the ABC sitcom Shifting Gears. The family-centric comedy marks Tim Allen’s return to network TV following the conclusion of Last Man Standing. It would seem that audiences are responding well to the show thus far, and, as a result, it just recently hit a massive milestone. With that, Allen – along with his co-stars – shared an A+ video that was shared to social media, and it saw the leading man share a piece of feedback that’s so on brand.

Shifting Gears, which premiered on January 8, has officially claimed the title of No. 1 new comedy on TV. That’s quite an accomplishment, especially considering the fact that the freshman comedy has only aired three episodes, as of this writing. In celebration of the occasion, the show’s official Instagram account released a video featuring Tim Allen, Kat Dennings, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis. You can check out the clip, which shows Allen humorously suggesting that his co-stars’ thank yous were “a little weak”:

That’s not exactly a pep talk, but it seemed to light a fire under the actors. In all seriousness though, that’s surely a bit that the ensemble worked out beforehand, and it’s cute. What’s also lovely to see is the wave of positive comments that fans are sharing in the comment section. Although that doesn’t serve as an actual gauge for viewership, it does seem evident that the series has already amassed a sum of loyal viewers in a short period of time. And that’s certainly something to be proud of.

Per the data that’s been released, Shifting Gears has been quite successful over these last few weeks. The Julie Thacker Scully and Mike Scully-created show notched the Alphabet network’s best series debut in six years. According to TheWrap, after a seven-day period of cross-platform viewing, the show amassed 16.95 million viewers. That signified a 173% increase from the sitcom’s same-day viewership numbers, which hit 6.2 million. On top of that, this TV offering also notched a 0.87 rating in the demographic of adults aged 18-49.

This new sitcom sees Tim Allen play the role of auto shop proprietor Matt Parker, whose way of life is upended when his estranged daughter, Riley, and her two kids – Georgia and Carter – come to live with him. It’s an old-fashioned, generational comedy with plenty of familial shenanigans. Also part of the show’s cast are Seann William Scott and Darryl “Chill” Mitchell. I’d argue that the likable ensemble of actors could be factoring into the show’s success.

On top of the main cast members, a few familiar faces have or will be popping up here and there. The show added former Disney child star Brenda Song, and Dharma and Greg veteran Jenna Elfman has guest-starred as well. In an exciting turn of events, Last Man Standing’s Nancy Travis is also appearing on the series. As for whether any of Tim Allen’s other former co-stars will show up, that remains to be seen. However, Allen has discussed the prospect of Home Improvement’s Zachary Taylor Thomas guest-starring.

Regardless of the exact reasons for the comedy series’ success, it seems the cast and crew are on to something, as critics’ thoughts on Shifting Gears don’t seem to be hurting it. The show has yet to be renewed for a second season at ABC, though I’d be quite surprised if this program becomes one of 2025’s canceled shows. Time will tell how it continues to perform and, in the meantime, we’ll have to see if the cast can up their enthusiasm just a tad.

New episodes of Shifting Gears air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, and they can be streamed next day with a Hulu subscription.