Shifting Gears – The ABC sitcom is returning for a third season, but showrunner Michelle Nader is candid about the uncertainty around whether key cast members—including the show’s evolving love triangle—will come back after major cliffhanger turns and romantic pivots.
Matt (Tim Allen) and Eve (Jenna Elfman) finally reach their happy ending in the February season finale of ABC’s Shifting Gears—reconciling and jetting off to Spain.
But the show’s third-season future is already being tested by what happens to Riley (Kat Dennings). Her love story has never stayed simple, and in the finale’s aftermath, the stakes feel personal: Riley’s emotions for Gabe (Seann William Scott) collide with the episode’s shock choices.
Early in the season, Riley came clean to Gabe about her feelings after two seasons of build-up. That moment carried consequences. Riley even ended her romance with newcomer Andy (Jesse Williams). leaving audiences reeling when Gabe didn’t immediately “make the leap” to explore his interest in Riley. The tension didn’t land lightly—then. in the very last moments of the episode. Gabe changed his mind and came to fight for Riley. Andy showed up too.
Behind the scenes. showrunner Michelle Nader says the original plan for the romance was built toward a will-they. won’t-they path meant to end in a destination. “The long term plan from when I started the show — even in casting Seann — was that these two are going to have a will-they. won’t-they and they’re destined to be together. He has always loved her since they were kids and she wasn’t aware at first. Then he declares his love at the end of last season. ” Nader told Us Weekly about the initial idea for the show.
She also explained that the narrative turns around Riley’s arc were designed with a specific break-up expectation—until the chemistry shifted. “We [cast a love interest for Gabe] and it was funny and working. Then when we thought about this arc for Riley — the idea was that she and Andy were going to break up. ” Nader said. “They were definitely gonna break up at the end because we know what we want and we know where we’re going.”.
Then came the reality of the performance. Jesse Williams’ role, in Nader’s telling, “pivoted” what the show could be. “Then it was just like, ‘Oh my God, Jesse Williams is so funny.’ So I was like, ‘What are we doing?’” Nader said.
That pivot leaves the show’s next chapter in an unsettled place. “Now we don’t know. We don’t know who she should be with,” Nader admitted. “That’s the story now. It was very much happening in real time for us.”
The third season still points back toward the triangle at the center of Riley’s life—just with room for disruption. Nader said she wants to continue the love triangle involving Jesse Williams. Seann William Scott. and Kat Dennings. and she wants to bring Eve back. She also teased another incoming surprise, without naming it. “I obviously want to continue the love triangle with Jesse, Seann and Kat. I obviously want to bring Eve back. But there are — I can’t say right now — but there’s going to be something I’m hooking up that I’ve already talked to the writers about. ” Nader teased to Us Weekly. “It is another potential bombshell of a person to come into their life.”.
As the show prepares to move forward, here’s what the season 3 return and non-return picture looks like.
Tim Allen is a lock—Matt is the foundation of the series, and Nader’s track record suggests the third season will keep centering him even as family dynamics change.
Kat Dennings is also expected to be front and center. Riley is the emotional engine of the cliffhanger era, and Nader has tied the future of the story to Riley’s shifting choices.
Seann William Scott’s Gabriel is set to return as well. The third season will pick up after the cliffhanger involving Scott’s character.
Daryl ‘Chill’ Mitchell is reprising his role as Stitch when Shifting Gears returns.
Maxwell Simkins will be back too, with Riley’s son slated to be in the third season.
Barrett Margolis will continue as Georgia, part of the Parker family, where the show has already placed lasting weight.
Jenna Elfman’s return carries momentum but not the same certainty as the rest. After Elfman was cast in Fox’s The Interrogator. she spoke to Us about her future as Eve on Shifting Gears. In May 2026. she said. “I can go play on Shifting Gears. ” and she added that a cameo on The Interrogator project might even involve her Shifting Gears love interest. “[Having Tim Allen on] would be very entertaining. He’s very funny and I think Stephen interrogating Tim Allen [would be cool].”.
Jesse Williams’ role, however, has become more complicated on paper. His involvement expanded after he was introduced in season 2, but the question now is whether he stays in the center of Riley’s life—or whether the love triangle keeps flipping the way it did when his performance changed the plan.
Luke Macfarlane, introduced in season 2, could come back in the future.
Put together, the emotional through-line is clear: Shifting Gears is set to return with the love story still refusing to settle—exactly where the finale left it, and exactly where Nader says the show is “happening in real time.”
Shifting Gears Season 3 Tim Allen Jenna Elfman Kat Dennings Seann William Scott Jesse Williams Michelle Nader ABC sitcom
Wait so is this cancelled or just “uncertain”? I can’t keep up with ABC anymore.
So Matt and Eve are in Spain and everyone’s happy but then Riley is like… fighting over dudes?? That’s the part that’s gonna decide if the show comes back??
I thought the whole point was Riley and Andy, like they set that up and then it just got scrapped?? Also Gabe “doesn’t make the leap” sounds like bad writing tbh, like just pick someone and move on.
The article says happy ending for Matt and Eve but meanwhile Riley’s emotions collide with “shock choices” and Andy shows up behind the scenes?? I’m confused like, did they even actually break up or was that a fake break up? And why does it sound like the actors are the cliffhanger too, not the plot.