Shifting Gears retains pulling in notable sitcom veterans from the community’s personal historical past, as one other former TV lead appeared on the Tim Allen sequence simply a few weeks after he reunited with Nancy Travis. It has been a very long time for the reason that 90s sitcom Dharma & Greg, and Jenna Elfman has solely sparingly taken the sitcom route since. She did not really feel hopeful about getting one other probability to be in a single in 2025, however Tim Allen’s Shifting Gears swayed her.
Elfman debuted within the newest Shifting Gears episode “Picnic,” by which she performed the proprietor of a dance studio that shares an alley house with Matt’s auto store, Eve. As Shifting Gears continues to be one of many highlights of the 2025 TV schedule, the actress talked about her doubts about ever returning to sitcoms within the trendy age in an interview with US Weekly:
All of us love sitcom, however it has felt exhausting to do by way of streaming and social media and the good sitcoms have been earlier than all of that. I actually love the format [of Shifting Gears]. So I’ve been interested by doing one, however I didn’t really feel hopeful that it could possibly be performed nicely or recent or new.
Tim Allen and showrunner Michelle Nader’s imaginative and prescient for the sequence satisfied her that Shifting Gears was doing sufficient otherwise to take an opportunity on, so she’s formally on board because the recurring character Eve. Eve has made quick mates with Kat Dennings’ Riley, who I am rooting for as Season 1 continues.
Eve would not get together with Allen’s Matt, as their conflict of political beliefs made for among the extra entertaining moments of her Shifting Gears debut. Jenna Elfman hinted about what’s forward between Eve and Matt, and it appears to be like like we are able to count on extra clashes between them sooner or later:
You’re going to see extra of the dynamic between Matt and Eve. Simply extra forthright communication, opinions and alternate. You get to see individuals being their full selves in one another’s face. It’s actually enjoyable.
Eve and Matt will proceed to butt heads on Shifting Gears, and I am positive Riley will usually discover herself caught within the center. Whereas Tim Allen and Kat Dennings get alongside nice engaged on the sequence, their characters are nonetheless getting again within the swing of being in one another’s lives once more.
I can see Riley getting in fights along with her dad for pushing again towards Eve’s extra non secular initiatives and beliefs that encroach on his enterprise, and her feeling a have to defend her father. That mentioned, it nearly looks like some romantic stress between Matt and Eve may floor, so possibly they will not be at odds for too lengthy.
Shifting Gears seems to be a house for stars from the previous to return, as Jay Leno was introduced as an upcoming visitor star for the ABC sequence. It will be nice if he can proceed to be a haven for sitcom stars of the previous to look, and we may get extra guest-starring characters from different nice sitcoms previous and current. With The Conners ending, I might like to see certainly one of their forged members jump over to the brand new ABC hit if it is sensible to take action.
All that mentioned, I am content material with the lineup Shifting Gears has thus far. Catch new episodes on ABC on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET, and be prepared for some laughs when tuning in.