Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Shifting Gears episode "Danger." Stream the episode with a Hulu subscription and read at your own risk!
I knew Shifting Gears Season 2 would feature a lot of celebrity cameos, and started off strong with a Home Improvement reunion, but the ABC series is really loading up episodes with famous faces. We've seen MLB star Mookie Betts, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, and even former late-night host Lilly Singh, so I was ready for more. And yet, the sitcom still threw a surprise at me with a viral TikTok comedian making a TV appearance.
I'm watching TikTok between commercial breaks, and I even sometimes see stars in commercials. I didn't expect I'd ever spot a comedian from my TikTok feed on the 2025 TV schedule, but I'm hoping it's a growing trend in Hollywood.
Shifting Gears Brought On Steph Tolev As The Exterminator
Matt had plans to help Carter overcome his fear of a raccoon guarding their trash can, but his grandson had other plans. He used the money from his job to call over an exterminator, who I was surprised to see was played by comedian Steph Tolev. (As a heads up if you're not familiar, her material is closer to South Park than Shifting Gears.) For those who don't have TikTok, she also has a comedy special, Steph Tolev: Filth Queen, available to stream with a Netflix subscription.
I'd Love To See More TikTok Stars On Sitcoms
We've already seen TikTok stars, Twitch streamers, and YouTubers invade the professional sports space in recent years, and now I see Shifting Gears getting on the bandwagon. I'm not sure it was the trailblazer in welcoming someone primarily known for TikTok, but an appearance on a high-profile Tim Allen sitcom makes me wonder if this will become much more common.
Of course, I'm also currently watching TikTok influencer Alix Earle compete on Dancing With The Stars. Perhaps it's ABC overall leading the charge, and by this time next year, we'll be seeing people from the platform all over the television space.
Or maybe not, and that's okay too. I appreciate how Shifting Gears is working to bring in a variety of guest stars, giving the audience something extra to look forward to each week. It certainly helps the retro feeling of the series, except this time around, I'm old enough to know who most of these people are when the studio audience hoots and hollers.
Shifting Gears airs on ABC on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Season 2 rolls on with Kat Dennings' Riley potentially getting a boyfriend, and I can't wait to see how that turns out.
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