Tim Allen’s ‘Shifting Gears’ Gets Fantastic News Ahead of Season 2 Premiere

Tim Allen is sticking around on Wednesday nights a little longer than expected. ABC has bumped up Shifting Gears’ Season 2 order from 10 episodes to 13, which means fans are getting three extra weeks of Allen and Kat Dennings before the network makes room for something else.

It’s not quite a full-season order (those usually hit 18 episodes or more on network television), but it’s definitely a vote of confidence after the show ranked as one of ABC’s top comedies last season.

Season 1 of Shifting Gears only ran 10 episodes since it launched midseason, so Season 2 is already bigger. The multi-cam sitcom follows Dennings as a single mom who moves back in with her estranged dad (Allen), who owns an auto restoration shop.

Along with the two leads, the cast includes Seann William Scott, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins, and Barrett Margolis. Michelle Nader runs the show, with Allen also pulling double duty as an executive producer. ABC clearly sees value in keeping it in the rotation, but the extra three episodes also line up with what’s waiting in the wings.

How Does This Affect ‘Scrubs’?

The Wednesday comedy block right now pairs Shifting Gears at 8 PM with Emmy darling Abbott Elementary at 8:30, but things are expected to change in the spring. The long-awaited Scrubs reboot — yes, with Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, and John C. McGinley all back — is the big midseason comedy waiting for its shot. Odds are it’ll slot into Shifting Gears’ time once the Tim Allen sitcom wraps up its 13-episode run, keeping the night built around Abbott Elementary.ABC hasn’t officially locked its midseason schedule yet, so there’s a chance they could shuffle the lineup, but either way, Scrubs is clearly being positioned as a major player in the block.

The additional episodes mark a strong show of support for Shifting Gears, which was ABC’s #5 scripted series last year. Allen has been a staple for the network for decades now, and pairing him with Kat Dennings has proven to be a surprisingly strong combo. Between the family tension, workplace comedy, and a little bit of the classic Tim Allen sitcom energy, Shifting Gears has carved out a solid niche for itself.

Shifting Gears will return to ABC next month for an initial 13 episodes. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.