We’re still around a month away from Fall TV shows peppering the 2025 premiere schedule, but I have little hesitation in thinking that the second season of Tim Allen’s Shifting Gears is going to be just as much of a ratings winner as the first was. Part of that optimism is no doubt linked to the few details we already know about the upcoming episodes, such as the trio of former Home Improvement stars set to appear. Now we know of another celeb who’ll likely pop up inside Matt’s shop.
In what I believe will be her first big TV role of the year, multi-hyphenate comedian Lilly Singh is joining the Shifting Gears family for a Season 2 guest spot, and will likely be showing up in one of the earlier episodes, just based on where the show is with its live-audience filming process. When she arrives, expect to see some friction with Kat Dennings’ Riley.
According to TVLine, Singh will portray a character named Jen who will initially get along quite well with Riley as a new friend. The two women will apparently bond very quickly with motherhood being a source of common ground. But it turns out that’ll also be what upends the short-lived kinship, as some “unexpected mama drama” causes the characters to turn against each other.
Here’s hoping things don’t go sideways for Riley and Jen while they’re still inside the shop, since that could be disastrous for any of the restored cars in their immediate vicinity. Riley might not be able to survive life on Matt’s bad side if such an outcome happens.
Lilly Singh more or less broke the news herself on Shifting Gears’ social media with a video from the set, as seen below:
No stranger to TV and YouTube, Lilly Singh previously teamed up with the House of Mouse for Disney+’s musical comedy series Muppets Mayhem, which was sadly cancelled by the platform despite our Season 2 wishes. Earlier in the 2025 movie schedule, Singh reprised her role of Tiffany Fluffit for The Bad Guys 2. She also started hosting the web series Shame Less with Lilly Singh, and will soon head up the comedy feature Doin’ It, which will hit theaters on September 19.
Meanwhile, Shifting Gears will not only be welcoming back Season 1 recurrer Nancy Travis (of Last Man Standing fame), but will also bring in Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning to reunite with Tim Allen for an as yet undisclosed storyline.
Set your DVRs, because Shifting Gears will be back for its Season 2 premiere on ABC on Wednesday, October 1.
