ABC comedy Shifting Gears returns from its winter break on Jan. 7. The big question is — will the comedy come back for a third season?
Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, who plays auto shop worker “Stitch” on the sitcom, is confident the answer will be “yes.”
We recently spoke with Mitchell about his work on the series alongside Tim Allen, Kat Dennings, and Seann William Scott.
Shifting Gears centers on stubborn widower Matt (Allen), who owns a classic car restoration shop. Matt has a sudden life change when his estranged daughter Riley (Dennings) shows up on his doorstep with her two kids.
Mitchell, 60, often steals the scenes when the action shifts to the garage.“Everybody cuts up. Tim is the ringleader,” the actor told us.
The series premiered on Jan. 8, 2025, with a massive 17 million multi-platform viewers after seven days across Hulu, Hulu on Disney+, and digital platforms, Deadline reported.
The second season debuted on Oct. 1. While still strong, the ratings were down. Per ABC, the season 2 premiere was watched by 7.57 million multi-platform viewers after seven days.
So far, there’s been no word on a third season, but Mitchell feels confident it will happen. “I was told leave my stuff in the dressing room,” he said.
Asked how reliable his source was, he responded very reliable.
“Well, that’s what the producer told me,” he quipped. “I was like, ‘Yo, what are we doing? Do I leave my stuff in the dressing room?’ She said, ‘Leave it.’ I said, ‘Say less.’ I don’t ask no questions.”
Mitchell and Allen previously worked together on the 1999 film, Galaxy Quest.
Since then, the rapper-turned-actor has had lengthy roles on a number of TV shows, including the short-lived Fox sitcom Brothers, AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, and he worked on 143 episodes of CBS drama NCIS: New Orleans, which ended its seven-season run in 2021.
Mitchell told us after that, he was reluctant to return to a grueling network TV schedule.
“It was so funny, because I call myself semi-retiring. Just laid back, not quitting, but just saying, ‘I’m not coming out of my house for anything after seven years at NCIS: New Orleans,'” he explained.
Shifting Gears comes from co-creators Mike Scully and Julie Thacker-Scully, who are known for their work on the animated Duncanville and The Simpsons.
During Mitchell’s semi-retirement, the team behind the ABC comedy contacted him about joining a new show.
“They sent over a script and a letter saying that they would hope that I’d really consider taking this role,” he recalled.
The actor was reluctant until they told him Allen would be the lead.
“I was like, that’s a no brainer. Tim Allen is Mr. TV,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell uses a wheelchair after a 2001 motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. He said working on the set of Shifting Gears has been a breeze.
“I work the sewing machine. I make seat covers and all that for seats… They just had to make sure that the cars are separated in a way that I can get through them,” he noted.
The actor joked that the production crew has benefited from having him on set.
“When I have to move around the set, they have wires and stuff. So, instead of getting the regular wire covers, they got wire covers for wheelchairs,” he explained. “It not only helps me, it helps the crew because now, they don’t have to pick those big carts up, just roll them right over there.”
He added, “[The crew said] ‘they should have been had these.’ You think?”
Shifting Gears returns with new episodes Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
