When it was announced that Tim Allen would be starring in the new ABC sitcom Shifting Gears, some fans had their reservations. Indeed, it seemed impossible that Allen could replicate the success of his iconic two previous sitcoms, Home Improvement and Last Man Standing.
It’s hard enough to get one hit. But two? Get real.
And three!? Come on!
And yet – Allen has indeed proven all of his naysayers wrong. The ratings are in, and Shifting Gears is absolutely dominating its competition on Wednesday nights!
Shifting Gears Viewers
According to viewership data by the ratings company Nielsen, Shifting Gears is the most watched sitcom of the 2024/2025 TV season. For the latest episode that has ratings data available, 11.4 million viewers tuned in both live and via streaming in the seven days after it aired. This put Shifting Gears ahead of its closest competitor by over one million viewers!
Who would have thought?!
At the start of this television season, all four major networks debuted new 30-minute sitcoms. Shifting Gears has blown them all out of the water in terms of viewers.
From Collider: “Happy’s Place comes in second with 5.7 million viewers; St. Denis Medical is third with 5.2 million viewers; Poppa’s House is fourth with 4.9 million viewers; and Going Dutch comes in with 2.7 million viewers at number five.”
On top of all that, Shifting Gears is the top ABC show in the key demo with a 2.43 rating. It’s not only ahead of all the network’s comedies with that number, it’s also ahead of all the ABC dramas!
Allen Celebrates Shifting Gears Success
This has all come as amazing news to Allen, who can’t help but celebrate.
“Somebody I was talking to called me the Tom Brady of TV with those three sitcoms, and I hadn’t thought of that but it got in my head,” Allen, 71, recently told USA Today.
It’s an apt comparison.
Allen’s first sitcom was Home Improvement, which aired from 1991 until 1999. He then starred in the sitcom Last Man Standing from 2011 until 2021. Even after all these years, Allen is still in love with the sitcom format. One of his favorite things about Shifting Gears is getting to shoot the show old-school style in front of a live studio audience.
“Back in the day, this is how it was, you rehearsed it and shot it in front of real people, and I love that,” Allen explained. “In the movies, OK maybe I make the crew bust up, but that’s it. Doing Shifting Gears, I get to aim for the whole audience plus the crew. There’s nothing like it.”
Allen Believes This’ll Be His Final Sitcom
Shifting Gears is especially meaningful to Allen because he believes the show will be his last sitcom.
“This probably will be the end of it,” Allen admitted. “That sounds depressing, but I did (Shifting Gears) because it seemed like a good idea that would be fun. That’s really it.”
Allen is such a hilarious talent that it’s no wonder that Shifting Gears is resonating with audiences in such a big way. If you love Allen as much as we do, be sure to tune into Shifting Gears on Wednesday nights on ABC!
