Netflix Tires Season 2 Review: Strong Start, Disappointing Fall!

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Recently, two weeks back, Season 2 became available on Netflix. Given my affinity for Season 1, I couldn’t resist diving into it right away, and I ended up consuming the entire season in a single stretch – a testament to my fondness for this show.

In keeping with its style, Season 2 kicks off much like you’d anticipate. The characters and humor remain as excessive as ever, which I found enjoyable and would suggest to others. However, the latter half of the season seems to have a dip in quality. The potential cause? My speculation leans towards Netflix.

It appears that Shane Gillis, the show’s creator, funded Season 1 himself, consisting of six episodes that are fast-paced, bold, and side-splittingly funny. Once Season 1 garnered significant success on Netflix, Gillis and his team received funding from Netflix – a condition being more streaming time. To fulfill this requirement, they expanded the number of episodes in Season 1 to twelve.

In essence, upon receiving funding from Netflix, they were compelled to extend Season 2, a situation that may resonate with Squid Game fans. Regrettably, this extension resulted in a decline in quality as the narrative concocted to fill the season lacked merit.

While viewing Season 2, I noticed a significant decline in quality upon the arrival of Thomas Hayden Church as Shane’s wealthy father, Phil. The situation worsened when Phil acquired the tire company, leading to a noticeable drop in humor. Unfortunately, the latter episodes lost their charm and paled in comparison to the initial half of Season 2 and even the first season.

After securing funds from Netflix, they added appearances by well-known actors, which I found didn’t align with the “working-class” theme of Tires. The show’s appeal lies in its realistic and budget-friendly aesthetic (without compromising quality). However, the guest appearances by Jon Lovitz and Vince Vaughn, while somewhat amusing, seemed to miss the mark, as far as I’m concerned.

I had issues with Thomas Haden Church’s portrayal of Phil, as he seemed miscast as Shane’s father. While there’s a possibility that the character was modeled after Gillis’ real dad, this is television—we expect some level of authenticity. I don’t recall Shane’s dad being depicted as wealthy in Season 1, and regardless, it doesn’t align with Shane’s character.

I didn’t find Ron White’s portrayal of NASCAR driver Ron Dobbins amusing; instead, it seemed melancholic and a bit disheartening.

What else about this didn’t I appreciate? It seemed unusual that Gillis portrayed his character as excessively smitten. The character Shane encounters a woman at the store who seems to be his female counterpart, an ideal match. However, instead of maintaining composure, he becomes overly infatuated and displays behavior reminiscent of a stalker and an awkward admirer, making him appear strange.

Oh my goodness! That wasn’t amusing at all, and it seemed reminiscent of Thomas Haden Church and Ron White’s characters – melancholic, cringeworthy individuals who didn’t quite hit the mark. I understand their intention to portray burnouts, but they overdid it and stretched it out for too long.

In my perspective, I wasn’t too fond of how Season 2 concluded with Shane handing Cal the car, sharing a hearty embrace, and expressing his affection. It left me wondering if there might be no Season 3 ahead. That was about all I could gather from the ending; it certainly felt like a farewell.

Among the standout characters in Season 2 of “Tires”, my personal favorites were Steve Gerben portraying Will, Stavros Halkias as Dave, who undeniably warrants a separate spinoff, and I must say, Kilah Fox delivered an impressive performance.

The Verdict

The second season of TIRES is a must-watch for its gritty originality, even in today’s humor-restricted climate. Despite some padding towards the end, it’s a compelling watch due to its strong start and unique content. Overall, it’s refreshingly unusual. 9/10.

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2025-06-19 00:32