Steven Prusakowski
Last season, much of the early hype surrounding Apple TV+’s Shrinking revolved around one of its stars: Harrison Ford, an actor known for portraying some of the most iconic characters in film history. While his performance did not disappoint, what made Shrinking stand out in its freshman season was its approach to mental health concerns, brought to life by a colorful cast of characters. The stellar ensemble made their flaws and emotions resonate, allowing us to laugh along the way.
Much of that cast was at New York Comic Con with a panel discussing the second season of the series beginning with the announcement of an early season 3 renewal. The panel included cast members Jason Segel (co-creator and also nominated for his role as Jimmy, interviewed last time by Joey here), Jessica Williams (Gaby), Luke Tenie (Sean), Lukita Maxwell (Alice), Christa Miller (who plays Liz and was also our 3rd guest on TV Topics), Ted McGinley (Derek), Michael Urie (Brian) and show co-creator Brett Goldstein, covered the series growth as it expands into a second season, including some big guests stars for season two.
Brett Goldstein was one of those guest stars, making the move from executive producer to cast member, “We’d written this part and I wasn’t going to play this part. I was going to play a silly cameo at some point but I’ll have to let Jason tell you or else I’ll sound like a dick,” shared Emmy-winner Goldstein.
Segel who created the series with Goldstein and Bill Lawrence (interviewed last year by Joey here) added, “The part was perfect for Brett because he was meant to play that part and also, as we see as the season unfolds, in a lot of ways, that character had to be a reflection of Jimmy. They’re two guys looking in a mirror, they’re looking at the grace of God in their life. I wanted someone formidable who I felt like a kinship with and also, Brett is, like, the best actor.”
Jessica Williams (who was nominated for an Emmy for her work as Gaby) spoke about developing her Emmy-nominated character, “I really connected with just sort of Gaby’s warmth that she has. She’s really got this sort of presence in general.” She continued, “I think talking to the writers, figuring out who Gaby was in the first season, they wanted to take her to the actress that played her. They just said they wanted Gaby to be a therapist that made people watch the show. I think between Paul and Jimmy, that she works with, she’s supposed to kind of bring the light in between the two. Their relationship dynamic is really important in the office. I mainly I figured out my character carving it out against Harrison and Jason’s.”
At the end of last season, Gaby and Jimmy’s relationship shifted from colleagues to friends with benefits and is growing from there, Williams touched upon the on-screen romance, “I can only control what comes out of my mouth somewhat. I have a lot of thoughts on how interracial couples are portrayed on screen.” That relationship is definitely takes some turns this season with more to come with the arrival of Derrick (Damon Wayans Jr.), a character Gaby has quickly taken to.
Shrinking does have one of the strongest casts on television, but no matter how good they are, without quality writing it does not matter. That is not a problem for the series, shared co-star and TV mainstay McGinley (who plays the husband of Christa Miller’s Liz), “Honestly, it’s brilliant writing. I remember sitting at the table read, and when I first got the script, I thought, ‘This is the best half hour I’ve ever read in my life.’ And when we sat down and did the table read, I said, ‘I’m right. ‘ I know what I’m talking about. It was brilliant. I had tears in my eyes several times and laughed my ass off. I thought, this is a home run.”
The writing and the performances were mentioned again and again, from Lukita Maxwell‘s zoom audition that went so well Segel immediately made the creative decision to cast her as his daughter. “I texted everybody, that’s my daughter, we don’t need to see anybody else,” recalled Segel. Their relationship on the show covers the gamut from heartbreaking to the touching to the hilarious.
Michael Urie shared another bit of memorable acting which was his favorite from season. “The episode when Jason is drunk and Harrison is stoned is the best drunk and best stoned acting I’ve ever seen. I assume it was acting.”
The show’s mix of humor, grief, and emotion that allow the series to explore the flaws in a way that connects with viewers. “I think that one of the things that was really important to us was we wanted to show that if we’re going to color outside the lines of standard therapy,” explained Segel. “It was going to be funny and things were going to go great. But we also wanted to be honest about it that things could go horribly wrong.”
The series, which is approaching the halfway point of season two, has much more story and guest stars coming to this season that were not spoiled during the panel, but were described as “nods to previous collaborations, whether in the writing or in the presence.” To which Segel, through out the name of a familiar co-star, “Kermit the Frog!” Okay, that may have been a joke from the writer/star of the 2011 film, The Muppets, but we can keep our fingers crossed. After all Kermit knows it’s not easy being green.
Shrinking continues season 2 on Apple TV+ with new episodes each weekly on Tuesday.
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