Netflix fans rush to binge ‘must-see’ series after huge Rotten Tomatoes boost

When the first season of Netflix’s workplace comedy Tires arrived last year, the raunchy tone and divisive lead Shane Gillis clearly weren’t for everyone.

In fact, it wasn’t for a lot of people. The show only scored a 40 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the equivalent of the unwanted green splat –and if it hadn’t been renewed before its release, you have to wonder whether Netflix would have brought the show back at all.

But now the second season has arrived on the streaming platform and brought with it considerable improvements on the first season – so much so the new episodes currently hold a 80 percent rating on the Tomatometer. Big gains.

Made on a shoestring budget compared to other recent Netflix releases like Fubar or Sirens, Tires sees Gillis play a fictionalised version of himself (also called Shane), who inherits his father’s Pennsylvania chain of tire shops.

For fans of The Bear, it’s a premise that might sound familiar, with two cousins at the reins. There’s wayward manager Will (co-creator Steven Gerben) and firebrand Shane (Shane Gillis), who run through a series of harebrained schemes to try and keep the business afloat.

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The show was a self-funded passion project for Gillis, who was fired from Saturday Night Live – before he had even started on the sketch comedy show – for using a racist slur and making offensive jokes on his podcast.