EXCLUSIVE: ABC has increased comedy Shifting Gears‘ Season 2 episode count from 10 to 13 with an order for 3 additional episodes, Deadline has learned.
That is more than Season 1 of the multi-camera sitcom, starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, which launched in midseason and consisted of 10 episodes, but short of a full-season order, which is typically 18 episodes or more. That means that Shifting Gears will be sharing its Wednesday time slot — and it’s pretty clear what show it will be sharing it with.
ABC has one comedy series on tap for midseason, the Scrubs reboot, which will be bringing back original cast members Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes and John C. McGinley. The network has not announced its midseason schedule yet but it’s safe to assume that Scrubs would replace Shifting Gears alongside Abbott Elementary in the Wednesday comedy block after the Tim Allen starrer wraps its 13-episode run. (ABC recently ordered comedy pilot Do You Want Kids? starring Rachel Bloom; it is targeted for the 2026-27 season.)
ABC’s comedy block in the fall includes Shifting Gears at 8 PM and the network’s flagship comedy series, Abbott Elementary, at 8:30 PM. Quinta Brunson’s Emmy-winning Abbott Elementary, which has been getting full-season orders since its midseason 2021-22 launch, should be a good companion to Scrubs, both being single-camera workplace comedies.
It is unclear whether ABC would keep Abbott Elementary Wednesdays at 8:30 PM in midseason, with Scrubs sliding in at 8 PM, or the network would reshuffle the comedy block.
Shifting Gears, which ranked #5 among ABC’s scripted series last season, stars Dennings as a single mother who moves back with her estranged father (Allen), the owner of an auto restoration shop.
In addition to Allen and Dennings, the main cast includes Seann William Scott, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis. Allen executive produces alongside showrunner Michelle Nader, Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina, John Pasquin, Jim Patterson, Bob Daily and John Amodeo. Dennings is a producer. The series was created by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully who exited after the pilot.
