ABC Wednesday Comedies Score With Stellar Midseason Premieres

Series photos are available here.

• “Shifting Gears” (8 p.m. ET/PT) roared back for its midseason premiere, earning 6.88 million Total Viewers after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, rising +58% (vs. 4.36 million) over the show’s initial Live+Same Day audience.
• The show scored its biggest total audience since the season debut (10/1/25).
• “Abbott Elementary” (8:30 p.m. ET/PT) also returned on a high note, earning 5.81 million Total Viewers after seven days of multiplatform viewing, rising +112% (vs. 2.74 million) over the initial Live+Same Day audience with its best audience in five weeks (since 10/22/25).
• Standing as the top two shows of the night, “Shifting Gears” (0.57 rating) and “Abbott Elementary” (0.56 rating) dominated the linear landscape as the No. 2 and No. 3 scripted shows of the week in Adults 18-49, respectively, behind only ABC’s “High Potential.”

Coming up next week (Jan. 28 on ABC, streaming next day on Hulu), Matt is thrilled to show off his military-hero son Sam on “Shifting Gears” (8 p.m. ET/PT), but a shift in Sam’s career could finally give Riley a chance to be the golden child. Meanwhile, Andy’s singing hits all the wrong notes for Riley. Jesse Williams and Luke Macfarlane guest star. And on “Abbott Elementary” (8:30 p.m. ET/PT), when picture day catches the teachers at Abbott by surprise, chaos ensues.

Source: ABC Multiplatform +7 Day data and Nielsen National Live+7 Day Big Data Plus Panel Program Ratings for 1/7/26 (w/o 1/5/26 – 1/11/26). 24/25 season National Live+7 Day based on Big Data Plus Panel, while prior years are panel only.

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