The “Shifting Gears” Season 2 finale culminated in Matt and Eve’s reunion. After a disastrous first date with a woman he met on a “traditional values” app, Matt reconnected with Eve, who was briefly back in town before resuming her overseas tour. Realizing how much he missed her — and how much he wanted a future together — Matt packed a bag and surprised her at the airport, ticket in hand.
Speaking with TVLine after the finale, showrunner Michelle Nader said the breakup and reunion were always part of a larger effort to ground the romance in reality.
“I wanted this relationship — especially for people who are a little older — to feel real,” she said, noting that her own experience dating a widower helped shape Matt’s emotional journey. “He’s the kind of person who wouldn’t just jump into another relationship. He’s very loyal, very much about love being forever.”
That perspective informed Matt’s hesitation earlier in the season, including his admission that he “already loves someone he can’t be with,” referring to his late wife, and couldn’t go through that again. “But then he’s alone. He misses her. He goes on that date. And the universe brings her back,” Nader continued. “The fact that Matt is willing to go to another country — that’s a huge step for him. It shows him pushing past his fears and comfort zone.”
Nader added that Eve’s integration into the Parker family was equally intentional, reflecting the reality that “when you start dating someone who has a family, you’re really dating the whole family.”
With Matt and Eve now back on solid ground, the show was moving beyond a will-they-or-won’t-they dynamic: “I don’t think this is that anymore. They’re in it now. The question becomes: How do they make it work?”
But now, Elfman’s potential involvement in a third season — and, even if she does return, just how much she’ll be able to appear — is an open question. (Of note: She appeared in nine episodes of the ABC comedy in 2025, while also co-starring in Season 3 of AMC’s “Dark Winds.”)
“Shifting Gears” has reportedly been handed another short order for Season 3, though an exact episode count has not been disclosed. (Season 1 ran 10 episodes, while Season 2 expanded to 13.) TVLine has reached out to ABC and Elfman’s reps for comment.
