After bringing a bunch of famous faces into the fold as guest stars for its first season, Shifting Gears’ showrunner Michelle Nader sees no reason to cut back on the classic TV tradition going into Season 2. We already know Tim Allen will reunite with some Home Improvement vets, with Lilly Singh set to befriend and bewitch RIley, and Nader has teased more throwback easter eggs on the way paying tribute to Allen and others’ careers. And yes, she definitely has other ideas in mind.
Speaking to US Weekly, the series head honcho excitedly confirmed that other mystery celebrities are being tapped to show up later in the season, and that she also has her own sidelist of ideal guest stars to send invites to, with one being a pretty prominent Emmy-winning veteran of HBO’s The White Lotus. In Nader’s words:
A couple of people are telling us [that they want to join the show]. I can’t say who and we’re thinking of how to get the right role. But we also have our people that we want to see. I want to get Jennifer Coolidge in the show. I want to get some of those people to come around. We have a lot up our sleeve.
Let's first speak to the most specific detail that was shared. It would be an absolute hoot to get Jennifer Coolidge into the Shifting Gears mix. As far as I can remember, she hasn't directly co-starred opposite Tim Allen in anything, but she certainly did spend years on the small screen opposite Kat Dennings as 2 Broke Girls' Sophie Kaczynsky, who moved into the apartment above Max and Caroline in the middle of Season 1. Givne that Michelle Nader was a writer-turned-showrunner for 2 Broke Girls, this seems like it should be an easy get, assuming Coolidge is down.
While their past sitcom work makes the most sense to connect Collidge to Shifting Gears, US Weekly frames the guest star comments as if Nader was asked about White Lotus stars making guest spots on the ABC comedy. I'm not sure if that's actually the case or not, but there are definitely a slew of interesting A-listers to choose from if that show's lineup is up for contention.
How wild would it be if Nader & Co. landed Jon Gries to appear in the same episode as Coolidge? Gries portrayed the latter's seemingly devious husband in the HBO series.) Or if Natasha Rothwell, who played White Lotus' Brenda, would sign on. I realize that there's no guarantee that any other guest stars would for sure co-star in the same episode as Coolidge, but I see no reason to dream small here.
Beyond any White Lotus alums, I'm hoping that some of the celebs that Michelle Nader referred to were other comedy greats that she's worked with in her past. For instance, I'd love to see Jenna Elfman's Dharma & Greg counterpart Thomas Gibson show up to raise trouble for Matt and Eve.
Or, since she also worked on the excellent Spin City during its run, bringing in Richard Kind, Alan Ruck, or Connie Britton would be genius. (Not that others would be unwelcome.) Given that Nader wrote a pair of episodes for one of the best new comedies to hit the 2025 TV schedule, Deli Boys, I'd love to also see Saagar Shaikh or Asif Ali show up in one way or another.
Check out the first look at Season 2, which plays up the impending guest spots from Patricia Richardson, Debbe Dunning and Richard Karn.
Shifting Gears Season 2 will kick off on ABC on Wednesday, October 1, at 8:00 p.m. ET, with new episodes streaming the next day via Hulu subscription.
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