‘Shrinking’ Star Jason Segel on Michael J. Fox, Harrison Ford and How That Tender Premiere Sets Up an “Electric” Third Season

Logo text

[Thisstorycontainsmajorspoilersfromtheseasonthreepremiereof[ThisstorycontainsmajorspoilersfromtheseasonthreepremiereofShrinking“My Bad.”]

Shrinking reunited Jimmy with his found family for a one-hour premiere that crossed tones to deliver a joyous wedding, a touching guest appearance from Michael J. Fox and a worrisome episode-ending scene that star Jason Segel says is a reminder that time is coming for us all.

Segel’s co-creator Bill Lawrence has been open about the fact that Fox inspired the Parkinson’s storyline that the Apple dramedy has been telling with Harrison Ford’s character, Paul. The beloved and curmudgeonly co-worker to Segel’s starring therapist Jimmy encounters Fox at the beginning of the now-streaming season three premiere, titled “My Bad,” in the waiting room of their doctor’s office. In the scene, Paul and Gerry, a patient played by Fox, bond over their diagnosis, leading them both to say, “Fuck Parkinson’s.”

Fox had reached out to Lawrence, who worked with Fox on Spin Cityabout Paul’s storyline, which led Lawrence to create the guest role for Fox in season three, marking Fox’s return to acting. “To have Michael J. Fox want to do this part and to walk out in front of a camera and say, ‘Fuck Parkinson’s’? It’s the definition of art,” Segel tells The Hollywood Reporter of the iconic actor, who has Parkinson’s and through his foundation has raised millions of dollars for research.

Segel, whose other co-creator is co-star Brett Goldstein (who plays Louis, the man who accidentally killed Jimmy’s wife in a drunken driving accident), says the theme of this third season is about moving forward. “Some of it is joyful and some of it is painful,” he says, referencing the final scene of the premiere, which leaves Paul worrying about his accelerating illness during an otherwise celebratory wedding night. (The series, meanwhile, was just renewed for another season.)

“The Parkinson’s, while a literal thing to explore, also explores that time is coming for you,” Segel says. “It’s coming for all of us. And to watch Harrison explore that honestly on film, I’m learning so much about what I’m supposed to be doing in front of the camera by watching him.” Read more below from Segel as he goes inside the Shrinking wedding between Paul and Wendie Malick’s Dr. Julie and teases what moving on looks like for widow Jimmy, especially with Cobie Smulders returning as a love interest.

***

You gave us an hour Shrinking episode. A lot happens — there’s a wedding! The hour was hopeful yet touching and also sad. Why did you start with such a big episode, and how does this set the tone for the rest of the season?

Well, we knew that Apple likes to drop two episodes, at least for the Shrinking premieres. And as you see, a lot happens in that first episode. So we thought, as opposed to dropping two half hours, let’s do an hour and that’ll be our two episodes’ worth.

It was exciting to be back. The excitement was there for us about continuing to do the show and that people were starting to catch onto it and like it. And to get to do a wedding episode? That storyline between Harrison and Wendie has been one of my favorites. It is so tender. So sweet. It’s so hopeful to watch two characters at that stage in their lives, with Paul going through what he’s going through, finding love and navigating the trickiness. And to have them decide to get married, knowing that Paul’s character is starting to degenerate, there’s so much joy and hope and love. It was awesome. It’s this mix of tones that reminds me of the James Brooks movies I loved growing up like Broadcast News and Terms of Endearment.

You really whipped me throughout the hour with a lot of feelings.

Good!

Harrison Ford has spoken about aging in this business. As he continues to take on Paul’s storyline at this point in his own life, have there been moments acting with him that have stuck with you?

I was just doing a little bit of ADR [Automated Dialogue Replacement] and Harrison Ford came on screen. I was like, “Oh, my God, he’s so handsome.” (Laughs.) It’s really insane to me that at 83 years old, if I was in a bar and it was between me and Harrison, I would still choose Harrison. The guy is so amazing, and so is the vulnerability with which he explores getting older.

We use Jimmy’s wife [played by Lilan Bowden] dying in a car accident to represent loss and grief, but we all go through it in our own ways. The Parkinson’s, while a literal thing to explore, also explores that time is coming for you. It’s coming for all of us. And to watch Harrison explore that honestly on film, I’m learning so much about what I’m supposed to be doing in front of the camera by watching him.

Michael J. Fox guest stars as a Parkinson’s patient named Gerry in the premiere, and he will appear in two more episodes. He inspired Paul’s storyline, and I understand he reached out to Bill Lawrence about that. What was that like when you heard from him?

The highlight of the experience for me was that I got to tell him that he was a true North [star] for me and my group when we were in our 20s making TV shows and movies, and trying to write them and do all this stuff at the same time. When I was doing How I Met Your Mother and Forgetting Sarah Marshall all at once, I was tired. I didn’t know if I had gotten in over my head. And I remember we would say to each other, “Michael J. Fox did it. Michael J. Fox did it.” And that kept us afloat. Knowing that it was possible is, I think, why some of our group made it. I got to say that to him, and that was a real honor. Also, to talk about bravery in front of the camera, to have Michael J. Fox want to do this part and walk out in front of a camera and say, “Fuck Parkinson’s”? It’s the definition of art.

He has spoken about how freeing it was that he could be himself in this role, and how that wasn’t an experience he’s ever had as an actor since his Parkinson’s diagnosis.

I only got to have one scene with Michael J. Fox, and it was just the coolest moment. That’s the day I got to meet him. We [Jimmy and Gerry] have a quick interaction in the office, but, yeah, I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.

The kicker of this episode is Paul realizing that his disease could be progressing, after he hallucinates seeing Gerry (Michael J. Fox). Why end the wedding episode on that note about Paul?

Well, this season is about moving forward, and everyone is moving forward in their own way. Some of it is joyful and some of it is painful, but it’s all going to be together and hand in hand with this found family.

I was just at a Q&A with the wire-walker Philippe Petit, who is the guy who walked between the Twin Towers in the ’70s. In this Q&A, someone asked him what it’s like to be up there and he said, “It’s impossible to explain. But what I can explain, because I think about it every time, is this moment where my weight is on my back foot, firmly on the building, and I have to make this choice to transfer my weight onto the front foot onto the wire, knowing I’m either going to commune with the gods, or I’m going to fall to my death.”

That, to me, is hopefully the energy of the season — of people stepping into the unknown. Jimmy is stepping into the unknown of his future because what he thought he was going to have was shattered [when his wife died]. Paul is stepping into this totally unknown future that he has no idea what it’s going to look like [because of the disease]. And we have that with a few of the characters. That I hope is the electric energy of the season.

Jimmy is going through a new stage in his grief. But his dating life will continue with Cobie Smulders returning, and Jeff Daniels comes later to play his father. How will exploring that father-son dynamic along with his dating life unearth more about Jimmy in season three?

Well, the dating life aspect is really fun and easy to talk about. I’m sure people who get divorced are dealing with this, where you thought dating was done. And then all of a sudden, at 45, you have to go do this weird, cumbersome thing. The other thing that Jimmy is confronting is that he thinks he met the love of his life already. That the best part happened. I don’t think he has much hope for the future in that regard. And then Cobie Smulders’ Sophie shows up in his life.

One of the big arcs this season is: What do you do when you think you might be sitting across from your soulmate, and you feel totally not ready? This guy feels totally unworthy and so much shame, and here’s this person saying, “Hey, you want to give it a shot?” And he’s just terrified. So there’s that, which I’m really looking forward to. And then, yes, the father-father figure standoff is really cool. Watching two masters at work with Harrison and Jeff [Daniels] is really cool to watch — it’s like a parenting Western.

You all originally envisioned this show as a three-season story, but said maybe the story would take you further, for another three seasons. After wrapping season three, how did you all feel about continuing?[[Writer’s note: After this interview, Shrinking was renewed for a fourth season.]

We’re trying to let the story be in charge, I think that’s the best way to put it and figure out, is there something pulling us into making more of this? And if there is, I would love to do it.

Jimmy and Louis (Brett Goldstein) have a touching scene in the premiere. He seems lighter and you two seem to be forging a friendship. What story are you telling with his character this season?

The story for the whole season is about moving forward, and I do think that, to some extent, it is this last lingering relationship that is a daily reminder of this trauma that happened [of Jimmy’s wife dying]. It’s going to be in their lives forever, but part of moving forward is these two being able to say, “We’re good, and now it’s time for us not to live in relation to each other anymore,” which is its own beautiful arc — and acting with Brett is just the best.

***

Shrinking is now streaming the season three premiere on Apple TV+, with new episodes dropping weekly on Wednesdays.