Shifting Gears is a television series my wife and I started last year since we’re both fans of Tim Allen and Kat Dennings. Unfortunately, the first season was pretty rough, mainly due to a weak script. Apparently, even the showrunners knew the series could have been taken to the impound lot and never seen again. That said, there have been some improvements.

The dynamic between Matt Parker and his daughter Riley is mostly the same as last season. However, Matt’s conservatism is never really challenged by a significantly liberal character, which is odd considering the series is set in Los Angeles, California. This kind of dynamic needs polarization to work, like salty balancing sweet. Otherwise, it just feels like Tim Allen is playing an old man complaining while everyone ignores him.

Riley Parker is also largely the same as she was last season and not too different from Kat Dennings’ character Max Black on 2 Broke Girls. However, she does show some growth this time around, and not just in her love life.

Probably the biggest improvement is Riley’s two kids, Carter and Georgia. They felt like a flat tire last season, but this time they’re given some decent storylines. It’s far from perfect, but I appreciate the progress.

My biggest disappointment with the second season was the highly hyped Home Improvement cameos. I would have been fine with the old cast having meaningful roles in this new series, but that didn’t happen. The cameos were so brief and insignificant that, in my opinion, they did more harm than good.

If you hated the first season of Shifting Gears, this won’t change your mind. You could say the first season was stuck in neutral, while the second season feels more like first gear. It’s very unlikely the show will become an all-time classic or even a cult-favorite sitcom, but at the end of the day, I did enjoy the second season, even if a few episodes were duds. I don’t believe a third season has been confirmed yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is. My wife and I will definitely watch.