Shane Gillis in Tires | Netflix
There’s one thing that must be said straightaway if you haven’t seen Tires, the comedy series on Netflix that depicts life in an underperforming auto repair shop and its manager who is an egregious HR violation, you have missed out on one of the more reliably entertaining Netflix shows. And if you did see it, then you know that Season 3, released on Netflix on August 13, 2026, was either something you were eagerly looking forward to or something you vowed not to watch ever since Season 1. In any case, how do we explain the fact that this show is both critically lambasted and adored by the viewers like that troublemaking kid who flunks every single exam but somehow becomes the “Most Likely to Succeed”.
So, is this third season of Valley Forge Auto worth watching? Short answer – absolutely, and it might actually be the best set of episodes that the show has ever done. Long answer – hold on, we are going under the hood.
What Is the Netflix Show About?
Tires is a show about Will (Steve Gerben), a panicked young man struggling to carry on the legacy of his father’s chain of ailing tire shops, and Shane (Shane Gillis), his relative and employee, who views “professional boundaries” as an insult to his character. Produced by Gillis, Gerben, and the director, John McKeever, Tires began its life as an underdog show consisting of six episodes that Gillis personally financed. It has since evolved into a true Netflix phenomenon that ranks within the streaming site’s Top 10 list across all three of its seasons.
Tires can be likened to The Office, but without any HR in sight, with everyone saying the quiet part loud.
What’s New This Season
The third season finds Shane and Will having taken over Valley Forge, which seems like an upgrade but really just means they’re sharing a migraine. They are losing money left and right; their company could fold any month now. And they are finally forced to deal with all the years of mess that have been accumulating because they were too happy not dealing with it. It’s pretty much just a comedy series masquerading as a therapy session.
At twelve episodes in, the show is definitely banking on its recurring cast more than trying to make any kind of splash with big name cameos. Stavros Halkias’ slimy Dave and Kilah Fox’s no-filter Kilah get much more play here, and the whole thing starts to feel a lot less like a platform for Gillis’ standup work and a bit more like actual ensemble comedy. And that’s an important change. The second season brought in guest stars like Vince Vaughn and Jon Lovitz to broaden their base, but this season is sure of itself enough to just be what it is. Thomas Haden Church also shows up again as Shane’s crazed man-child of a dad, Phil, continuing his case that some people should not have children or run businesses.
The guest actors this season include Bobby Lee, Dan Soder, Billy Magnussen, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Rachel Blanchard, and Garret Dillahunt, a good selection of talent, but importantly one which actually serves the plot.
Tires Season 3 Review: Is It Actually Funny?
Well, the thing about Tires is that the show has always been crass, and Season 3 hasn’t learned to hold back. It’s still the kind of show where the jokes are dirty, the insults are personal, and at least once an episode there will be something that makes you check to see if anyone saw you laughing at it. In fact, one critic specifically pointed out that “duct-tape salesman” is Shane’s best insult of the show so far, and Kilah supposedly said something involving vans that is going to make our SEO meta description very hard to write for a family-friendly audience.
If that’s not the kind of comedy you like, then Season 3 isn’t going to change your mind about Tires. But if you’ve accepted it and are comfortable with it, this is the show embracing its wildness wholeheartedly.
This third season is clearly better than the previous two in the sense that there is an emotional undercurrent that carries the comedy above. There are genuine stakes for the relationship between Will and Shane as they struggle to keep the business going, and at last, the show allows its characters some respite from being nothing but comedic delivery systems. It follows the traditional office-comedy mold of shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation, but everyone can let their hair down a bit since, after all, it’s Netflix and not network television.
Tires Season 3 Rotten Tomatoes: Critics vs. Fans
Here’s where it becomes clear why Tires can be considered one of the funnier case studies on the internet – the difference between the opinion of the critics and normal viewers is huge. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the overall percentage for critics is a mediocre 58%, but this figure does not convey the harshness of certain reviews – one publication even dubbed the series a prime example of “gutless comedy.” However, the audience percentage is a much higher 89%, and Season 3 has been particularly praised, with one big-name site giving it a 9/10 rating.
Translation: The critics still continue to hope that Tires will evolve into a more intelligent series than it ever intended to be, whereas the audience continues to tune in because all they want is to laugh at irrational men shouting at one another in a garage. Season 3 fails to bridge the gap – but it manages to do so only somewhat, with even the critics themselves conceding that the series has quietly evolved.
Should You Watch Tires Season 3?
If you have already liked Seasons 1 and 2, then it is obvious – you are definitely going to love this third one. This season has been praised by most critics and fans of this comedy series, as it is written better and features a cast that has really grown and become quite believable. If you are watching this show for the first time, you may technically start watching Season 3 right now, but you will definitely get much more out of the series if you watch it from Season 1.
All you need to know about the third season of this show is that tires are loud, dirty, mean-spirited, and they don’t care at all about good taste. And it is not pretentious TV, but it sure makes you feel some kind of emotion by the end of the season.
Final Verdict
By now, into three seasons, the underdog has been proven as one of the most reliable shows on Netflix – just another example that the show everyone criticizes may be exactly the one that everyone loves. The third season did not bring any major changes to the garage, but made it sound and work better than ever before.
Rating: 4/5 tires – running smoothly, occasionally screeching, always entertaining.
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