Toys
Matt takes time to get to know Riley’s new boyfriend, Andy, but his reaction to the guy causes problems for his daughter. Plus, Matt and Gabe are hired to design knock off Transformers for a toy company but struggle when facing the focus group.
Warning: Spoilers Below
Custom Car
A toy executive brings her car to the shop for it to be customized. She talks about what she wants and Matt refuses saying it will destroy the car. He suggests building her what she wants rather than destroying a classic to create what she wants. She likes his idea and it gives her inspiration for another idea.
Disney/Raymond Liu
She’s working on a special kind of toy that is just a ripoff Transformers. (At this point, it may be a ripoff of Go-Bots). Matt seems hesitant but Gabe is on board. While Matt and Gabe talk about the work on the car, Gabe also reveals his design for the toy. Matt mentions that he also designed the toy despite not appearing interested. It’s clear he plans to pitch his, so Gabe puts his design aside.
Riley and Andy
Riley and Andy are going on dates but she doesn’t want to bring him home to meet her kids or her dad. Unfortunately, Matt catches them on their date. This frustrates Riley because she thinks he’s going to be the overbearing parent he was when she was a teen. Instead, Matt doesn’t seem to care, so Riley just dumps all the information she’s been carrying while Matt really doesn’t listen since his daughter is now the parent of two teenagers rather than a teenager herself.
Disney/Raymond Liu
The next day, Andy stops by to talk to Matt. Matt doesn’t seem to remember him until he mentions the car he was driving. Matt appreciates the car and has a good conversation with Andy. This makes Riley nervous as she spies on everything. Eventually, Matt invites Andy over to a cookout he’s having.
Jealous Gabe
Andy shows us with a dry rub for the barbecue but he keeps saying things that would be putting his foot in his mouth if Matt were paying close attention. Instead, Matt’s willing to get to know Andy without judgment. This continues to surprise Riley as she’s accustomed to her father hating the guy she’s dating. She says she should break up with Andy but also thinks maybe Matt is playing a sick game and she should run off to Vegas and marry Andy. (Not a good idea to do that twice.)
Disney/Raymond Liu
The real tension at the barbecue comes not from Matt but from Gabe. Gabe is clearly jealous of Andy. Andy got a quick invite to the cookout. Andy is dating Riley who Gabe had feelings for before he started dating Amelie. Andy viewed Matt as a father figure growing up since he was good friends with Matt’s son and Riley’s brother. Gabe keeps testing Andy while trying to show how athletic he is. The real question from these interactions is whether Gabe is jealous because Andy is dating Riley or if Gabe is jealous because Andy is getting along with Matt.
Focus Group
Back to the toy, Matt pitches his idea for a toy but the exec isn’t feeling it. Matt’s is a basic image of a car that turns into a robot. It’s beautiful and could be used but it doesn’t speak to the exec. She’s ready to leave when Gabe brings in his design. It shoots fire out its tail pipe which becomes its butt. It makes sense in the scheme of cars. The exec loves it because it “poops fire.” She brings them in for a meeting.
Disney/Raymond Liu
Gabe is getting nervous about his pitch. The design is good (to the exec) but Gabe isn’t good at speaking in front of people. Matt’s along and keeps supporting him. They think they will be talking to the board, but she tells them it’s a focus group meeting and the focus group is kids. Both Gabe and Matt feel ill-equipped, but Gabe pitches it. The kids hate it because his design is meant to be a dragon, but the kids point out dragons breathe fire not poop fire. The kids hate it and Gabe ends up arguing with the kids in a funny manner. Guess that pitch won’t happen.
What’s Next?
I like sitcoms that keep episodes self-contained for the most part. While there has to be some character growth over seasons, sitcoms don’t need the overarching narratives that many dramas do. They are set up in a way where you can jump in anywhere and if you enjoy it, you keep watching. I like that Shifting Gears still does that. There’s some narratives that stretch throughout like Gabe’s crush on Riley and his desire for approval from Matt. But if you jumped in here, you could enjoy this episode if it was your kind of entertainment. Of course, the episode as a whole was only okay. It’s the tomato sandwich of sitcoms. It’s not great. It’s not terrible. It’s there with enough humor to keep going.
Check out Shifting Gears on ABC, Hulu and Disney Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2026
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