Shifting Gears season 2 ended with a love triangle cliffhanger — but there’s already plans for more “bombshell” reveals in season 3.
During the Wednesday, February 4, finale of the hit ABC sitcom, Matt (Tim Allen) and Eve (Jenna Elfman) got their happy ending — more on that here — when they reconciled and jetted off to Spain. Matt’s daughter, Riley (Kat Dennings), however, found herself in a much more complicated place in her love life.
Riley came clean to Gabe (Seann William Scott) about her feelings for him after two seasons of build-up, even ending her romance with newcomer Andy (Jesse Williams). Audiences were left shocked, however, when Gabe chose not to make the leap and explore his interest in Riley. That is until the very last moments of the episode when he changed his mind and came to fight for Riley — as did Andy.
“The long term plan from when I started the show — even in casting Sean — 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,” showrunner Michelle Nader exclusively told Us Weekly about the initial idea for the show. “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.”
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She continued: “They were definitely gonna break up at the end because we know what we want and we know where we’re going. Then it was just like, ‘Oh my God, Jesse Williams is so funny.’ So I was like, ‘What are we doing?’”
Williams’ performance ultimately “pivoted” the show in a new direction.
“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.”
Shifting Gears, which premiered in January 2025, showed Riley in the months after her split from then-husband Jimmy (Lucas Neff). While Riley and Gabe were teased as a possible couple, the season 1 finale pumped the brakes.
“Riley is literally hours out of her marriage. She should really pull it back a little bit,” Dennings joked to Us in March 2025 about how long it could take for Riley and Gabriel to get together. “She’s been separated for a long time and she hasn’t been emotionally in this relationship. But still, she just got out of a very long relationship.”
She continued: “She also really loves Gabriel as a friend. So I think there’s lots of reasons for the slow burn.”
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At the time, Dennings, 39, and Scott, 49, gushed about being scene partners.
“We get along. We instantly really hit it off and got along and we have a lot of things in common and I really help you with your phone a lot,” she quipped, to which Scott added, “When we were shooting, it’s one thing. When we’re not shooting, we became friends right away and I immediately was like, ‘Oh wow, this is a huge gift.’ Not only do I get to do this show but it came with just a really important dear friend for life. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it before where I was like, ‘Oh wow, we do have chemistry.’”
Shifting Gears, meanwhile, has other surprises planned for a potential third season.
“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. “It is another potential bombshell of a person to come into their life.”
Shifting Gears is currently streaming on Hulu.
