'Shifting Gears' fixes up a 'Home Improvement' reunion for season 2 premiere

ABC’s “Shifting Gears” stars Tim Allen as Matt. (Disney/Justin Stephens)

By Andrea Tuccillo

August 20, 2025 at 6:00 am EDT

A Home Improvement reunion is coming to Shifting Gears.

The season 2 premiere of the Tim Allen ABC comedy series is set to feature guest-starring appearances by Allen's former Home Improvement co-stars Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning.

The three characters will show up to support Allen’s character, Matt, in “an unexpected way” in the episode airing Wednesday, Oct. 1.

Shifting Gears follows Matt, the widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop, as he adjusts to living with his formerly estranged daughter and her kids.

On Home Improvement, which aired on ABC from 1991 to 1999, Allen played Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, the accident-prone host of a home improvement show called Tool Time. Richardson played his wife, Jill Taylor, on the show, while Karn played his co-host Al Borland and Dunning played "Tool Time girl" Heidi Kepert.