Shifting Gears

The cast is great. Sean William Scott needed a new sitcom. His role is perfect for him. Love Tim Allen and all the callbacks to his previous hits. Nice to see Daryl Mitchell again after NCIS NOLA was canceled. But Kat Demmings is the lag.

Riley's exactly the same character as Max from 2 Broke Girls. The same sarcasm and one liner style...same slutty/drunk/party girl backstory as Max. There's virtually no separation between the 2 characters. The only difference is Riley has loving parents and no yellow waitress uniform.

Demmings' character in 2 Broke Girls worked. But in this show...it's already getting old and I'm on the 7th episode now. Hopefully they can change it up a bit by the end of the season. It's funny but her character being soooo similar to her previous series...makes you feel like you're at the end of the series rather than the first season. I'm afraid there won't be a season two without some kind of change with her character. There's great potential with such a good cast.

I really like Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, and so I was hopeful about their pairing as sitcom veterans in Shifting Gears. I like the premise too and find it relatable. It's challenging when you don't always see eye to eye with your parent but you love them regardless. And as someone who comes from a family with a mix of liberals and conservatives, I like shows that have characters from both sides of the table.

I will say, though...it could just be that it's the first episode and they need more time working together, but the chemistry of the actors seems off. Kat's not really giving me a "became a mom at a young age" vibe yet. Everyone just felt a bit awkard but I will say it's an awkward situation to have to ask your parent for help when your relationship isn't the best. But I couldn't help but feel everything was just a pinched forced.

Tim and the granddaughter connect well, though. She was the best out of all of them, in my opinion. She seemed to be the one that interacted with everyone the best and felt the most natural in the role. She has a bright eyed optimism that is refreshing to see that breaks from the stereotype of " kids these days are just spoiled screen zombies with zero social skills."

I still like the premise, though. And I still got a bit choked up at the end - it felt like Kat and Tim finally "clicked", not just as father and daughter, but as two actors telling a story. So maybe they will find their footing eventually? I'm going to give it more time. Hoping it becomes my comfort show.

Six stars is probably being overly generous. This sitcom is quite simply not good. I loved Tim Allen and the entire cast of "Home Improvement". "Last Man Standing" wasn't great in terms of writing, but at least the cast was interesting and talented. "Shifting Gears" is simply a car crash of a show. Outside of Allen, the casting and acting is terrible. Chemistry among the mother and her two teenagers is completely nonexistent. The writing is dull and predictable. Why any executive greenlit this show for more episodes after watching the pilot is a mystery to me. I've seen the first two episodes and have zero interest in any more.

Everything they say isn't funny so PLEASE give us a break and scrap the laugh track. It's used so often it makes the show unwatchable, which is a shame because it's not off to a bad start as a new series.

The acting is good and the plotline allows room for the show to grow.

But for the show to evolve writers need to stop aiming for the quick easy laugh and develop the characters.

Mostly, tone down the laugh track. We can figure out the comedic lines all by ourselves.

There's good chemistry between Tim Allen and Kat Dennings and the actors who play the kids are quite good. Don't let the laugh track spoil it.

Love both Kat and Tim, was really looking forward to this series premiering. However I can't figure out if I like or hate the show and it's because of the laugh track. A scene that may give the viewer a smile or light chuckle is overshadowed by boisterous canned laughter, not only inappropriate but Totally ruins the scene. Because I am a fan of both of these actors and have hopes the series will be enjoyable, next episode I'm muting the volume and turning on the closed captioning to be able to assess if I'm hating the show or just turned off the show by the canned laughter. Sad it has to come to this.