Get ready for Tim Allen's new series on ABC (Shifting Gears premiere date)

We have a premiere date for the new Tim Allen sitcom Shifting Gears, so here’s what you need to know about the new ABC comedy!

Tim Allen has proven himself one of the best and most reliable comedic stars of his time. Rising up as a stand-up comic in the late 1980s, Allen hit the big time in 1991 with the ABC sitcom Home Improvement. The highly-rated sitcom lasted eight seasons to establish Allen as a comedic star. That led to further success in movies like The Santa Clause, Galaxy Quest, and voicing Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise. 

Allen returned to TV in 2011 in the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing, which ran for six seasons and then an additional three on Fox. He then reprised his role in the Disney+ The Santa Clauses series, while still mixing in a few turns as Buzz.

It looks like Allen just can’t let TV go, as he’s now going to return to ABC in the new sitcom Shifting Gears. He’ll play Matt, the stubborn, widowed owner of a car restoration shop who enjoys his single life. That’s thrown when his estranged daughter (Kat Dennings) and her kids move in and Matt has to adjust to a new life. 

The show looks to be a classic sitcom with Allen and Dennings, no stranger to the format, having starred in the CBS hit 2 Broke Girls. It’s produced by Michelle Nader, who worked with Dennings on Girls and the Hulu comedy Dollface. 

Also in the cast is Sean William Scott as a co-worker of Matt Darly “Chilli” Mitchell as a fellow co-worker. 

It appears to be a good comedy set, so when does it premiere?

When does Shifting Gears air on ABC?

ABC announced its upcoming 2025 mid-season schedule and said that Shifting Gears will premiere Wednesday, January 8, at 8/7c. It serves as the lead-in to Abbott Elementary and is followed by Celebrity Jeopardy and What Would You Do?

It’s a good time slot for the program as the comedy block can be counter-programming to Chicago Med on NBC, and ABC needs another comedy show. Allen remains amazingly popular with audiences and putting him back in the classic sitcom format is good. He and Dennings should have good chemistry as well, and it’s an age-old but workable story of an estranged family coming together. It may not break the mold in terms of comedies but with viewers wanting some comfort viewing, Allen seems set to provide it.

So it looks like Allen is once again set to add another hit to his long list of TV shows and Shifting Gears a good addition to the ABC slate.

Shifting Gears premieres Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 8/7c on ABC.