As the 2026 TV schedule begins to wrap up in these final two months of the year, things are already amp up for programming in 2027. Networks are starting to unveil the winter lineups, and they're not looking half bad. With that, many shows are marking their long-awaited season premieres, including Shifting Gears. However, the Tim Allen-led sitcom will seemingly up against some pretty stiff competition.
On Friday, ABC released premiere dates for the winter TV schedule, revealing that Season 3 of Shifting Gears is finally making its debut on Wednesday, January 6 at 8 p.m. ET. This means that the series will be going against Fox’s hit game show, The Floor. Although a midseason premiere date has not been announced for the reality competition series, as of this writing, the Wednesday slot is a likely possibility. (Personally, I didn't expect The Floor to last this long, but it's impressive that it continues to be a success on Fox.)
Another detail worth mentioning is the fact that Baywatch is officially premiering on January 6 on Fox. Of course, it’s going to be at 9 p.m. ET, so it won’t be competing against Shifting Gears, but it’s still going up against the rest of ABC’s Wednesday night lineup. The Rookie will debut its ninth season on January 6, at the same time as Baywatch, while The Rookie: North will premiere right after. Of course, as for whether Baywatch will live up to the hype is unknown, but it should be an interesting night of shows nonetheless.
Shifting Gears will also be competing against Chicago Med on NBC, which is confirmed to be returning early next year to continue Season 12. Again, a midseason premiere date has not been announced, but it will continue to kick off One Chicago Wednesdays in 2027. Of course, with SG and Abbott Elementary, which will rejoin ABC’s Wednesday night lineup for midseason on January 13. With both of those being sitcoms and Chicago Med being a medical drama, the audiences could be very different. However, that doesn't mean there couldn't be any audience crossover that could spark competition.
As of now, CBS has not yet revealed a midseason lineup, but the network has a lot of shows returning and a lot of shows premiering. Typically, Wednesdays on the Eye Network are reserved for Survivor and The Amazing Race or a different reality series, so it’s entirely possible that Shifting Gears will be going up against even stiffer competition, literally.
What should also be mentioned, though, is that not not all viewers watch TV in a linear fashion, as some stream programs at a later time. So such practices could also surely factor into how the ratings eventually shake out.
However, with all this said, it should be mentioned that this will be the third consecutive season that Allen's show has been on Wednesday nights, so the comedy series has been up against popular shows like Survivor and titles from the One Chicago franchise. It’s done pretty well so far, with the Season 2 finale bringing in strong viewership across ABC and drawing in Hulu subscription holders.
Based on the performance of Allen's show thus far, l'm confident in the notion of it succeeding ratings-wise when it returns, even with some new shows airing around its timeslot. Of course, nothing is guaranteed, and I'll be curious to see what the eventual numbers for SG Season 3 look like.
I'm currently just happy Shifting Gears is returning for Season 3, as the show was renewed in April. The wait has been long, but I'm hopeful that it'll be worth it. Tune in for the third season of Shifting Gears, whichever way you choose to watch, when it premieres on Wednesday, January 6, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
