Shrinking

NEW YORK — (AP) — When Bill Lawrence was developing his new Apple TV+ comedy "Shrinking," he introduced one character in the pilot script as a "Harrison ...

“One of the things that’s really cool about Harrison Ford is that he considers himself a tradesman, like a craftsman. She says it took about a week to remain present and get used to his face staring at her. “We talked to him a lot about character, and it was so easy that … “He really loved the scripts and related to a lot of the aspects of the character,” Goldstein said. But he decided to take a shot and send Ford the script. They had the lofty goal of making a comedy about grief, set it in an office shared by therapists and starring Segel, Ford, [Jessica Williams,](https://apnews.com/article/north-america-ap-top-news-movies-jessica-williams-entertainment-726a5b33d3554f1fb061a1466dcdf7bc) and Christa Miller.

Harrison Ford talks about starring in Apple TV+ series 'Shrinking' and fronting '1923.'

“We all feel a sense of isolation, we’ve all been through something really weird the last few years, and kind of grasping onto each other’s hands and laughing our way out of this hole is an important thing.” Though the star’s classic roles have often been laced with one-liners, Shrinking marks his first true comedic role; “I always feel like doing comedy, I enjoy doing comedy,” Ford confirmed of his interest in the genre. “This is probably more like TV than 1923 is, 1923 is really like a movie you can see at home if you want.” [Jason Segel](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/jason-segel/), Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence, follows Segel as a grieving, widowed therapist pushing the ethics of his profession, with Ford as a senior shrink trying to keep him on the right path. “I think part of what the show explores is the only way we’re going to get through any of this shit is together,” Segel continued. “We had a lot of great advisors from the therapy world and we’re all pretty therapy-ed up, so between our experience and theirs, we really tried to figure out where the ethical lines were, the moral lines, and stay within them but push as far to the line as we could,” Segel said of the process of creating his character, who breaks some therapy rules by telling his patients exactly what he thinks about their problems. Segel, who also worked as a writer and EP on the series, recalled his first day on set working with Ford as a “really proud” moment. “You have an overwhelming sense in your life that we’re all fighting, ‘Oh no, is something wrong?’ And when you’re acting across from Harrison Ford it’s really hard to feel like something is wrong,” he teased, adding that the project was “an amazing gift” when Ted Lasso duo Lawrence and Goldstein called him up with an idea about grief and therapy. Just because he’s embracing at-home streaming content doesn’t mean he’s given up on theatrical, though, adding, “I wish that we were back in theaters for more of the work that we’re doing because that’s a really important experience culturally — a popular movie that everybody gets the chance to see is an interesting cultural phenomenon,” with a hope there’s a shift to “regain the theatrical experience.” And of his recent pivot to TV, he said it’s not part of a grand career plan to take over the small screen: “To me it doesn’t make any difference, it’s just where you see it really,” Ford said of the shift. Ford told The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s Los Angeles premiere on Thursday that upon reading the script, “the dialogue was good, the situations were interesting, the characters were interesting and I was pretty much hooked.” [Harrison Ford](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/harrison-ford/) has started his 2023 out by headlining two new TV series: Yellowstone prequel 1923 and [Apple TV+](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/apple-tv/) comedy [Shrinking](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/shrinking/).

"Shrinking" co-creators Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence about working with Harrison Ford on their new Apple TV+ comedy series.

I liked the intention. I liked the character. “Some of the most heartfelt lines and moments…were so in the moment that what he says is so authentic and true to the scene; it’s all very usable. Ford said, “I liked the writing. He cared about how his character dressed, how he fit in the story.” “I walked in and he said, ‘Best script I’ve ever read,’” Goldstein told me.

Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Michael Urie, Ted McGinley and Lukita Maxwell also star in the series, which was created by Segel, Bill Lawrence and Brett ...

Parting Shot: Sean gets arrested at Alice’s soccer game — why he and Jimmy were there is a long story — defending Jimmy from the husband of the patient he told to get out of her marriage. It’s kind of an “oh by the way” reference that still sticks out because it will likely factor in later in the season. Our Take: The only moment during the first episode of Shrinking that felt sitcommy was when Paul decided to relent and let Jimmy try his unconventional method, but on second watch, it’s also a scene that shows what the series is going to be about. And it seems that Segel, Goldstein and Lawrence are on the right path in that direction here. But Lawrence knows how to put together an ensemble that can make people care about the characters enough to get them past the more treacly episodes in a particular season. Like in most Bill Lawrence shows, the unit around Jimmy, from his business partners to Liz and Derek to even patients like Sean, is his family. Again, it’s all done with affection, and as this group coalesces around Jimmy getting better and learning to deal with his grief, the more fun their interactions will get. The fact that he’s adrift but still involved, still caring that Alice, for instance, doesn’t want to be around him, and caring for his patients is largely due to his support system holding him up over the past year. The Gist: Liz (Christa Miller) and Derek (Ted McGinley) figure out who’s going to go next door, to their neighbor Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel), and remind him that it’s the middle of the night. He bursts into the breakroom to tell his partners, water-guzzling Gabby Evans (Jessica Williams) and cranky Paul Rhoades (Harrison Ford), about his win. When Paul gets word that Jimmy has been doing this unorthodox — and borderline unethical — work with Sean, he needs to be convinced by Jimmy to let him do it. Sean (Luke Tennie) is a former soldier who is taking court-ordered therapy after he beat the hell out of a guy.

Jason Segel plays a fortysomething in new sentimental tale of emotional enlightenment.

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Not a Disney reboot zombie. Not a Taylor Sheridan cowboy. Just what he always was: an honest, damn good performer.

Maybe it's some of that Bill Lawrence, chemically-engineered good feeling at work, but Ford steals every scene, feeling—for the first time in a while—like the star he's supposed to be. And while he's the first to faux-reluctantly help Laird out of a jam, he's knotted up in his own life, refusing to tell his daughter about his diagnosis. At first glance, Rhodes fits into the "Harrison Ford Playing Harrison Ford" category: the man is grumpy as all heck, and the first to call out a hangover. It's as if the man was strapped to a seat, A Clockwork Orange-style, had to watch The Force Awakens scene where he pops out of the Millennium Falcon over and over again, then decided to go cold turkey on the rough-and-tumble thing. Here's hoping that once the man puts down the fedora this summer, Shrinking is just the beginning of Ford's new groove. Shrinking itself is an incredibly fun, if not entirely memorable watch—truly, the series is Ted Lasso Gets a Psych Degree—but Ford is the true standout. And I've gotta say: Harrison Ford feels like Harrison Ford again. Meanwhile, the real Harrison Ford was sipping beers from the cockpit of a transatlantic flight. [Harrison Ford](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a42297814/taylor-sheridan-harrison-ford-1923-casting/)—and we've been watching his deepfaked doppelgänger since at least 2015's [Star Wars: The Force Awakens](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/news/a40534/the-force-awakens-review/). These performances have been missing anything we'd usually associate with the man: an All-American level of mettle, endless charm, and—this is important—something that feels new. Or whatever Harrison Ford does in his free time. [bizarro story](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/james-dean-dead-actors-rights) from a few years ago, when we heard that James Dean would be recreated as an unholy, digital resurrection for a new movie?

NEW YORK (AP) — When Bill Lawrence was developing his new Apple TV+ comedy ”Shrinking,” he introduced one character in the pilot script as a “Harrison ...

“One of the things that’s really cool about Harrison Ford is that he considers himself a tradesman, like a craftsman. She says it took about a week to remain present and get used to his face staring at her. He plays the character, he disappears into it. “He really loved the scripts and related to a lot of the aspects of the character,” Goldstein said. “We talked to him a lot about character, and it was so easy that … he’s got the glimmer in his eye. He’s got the thing. “His job is to come in and build these scenes and you’re his partner in that.” But he decided to take a shot and send Ford the script. They had the lofty goal of making a comedy about grief, set it in an office shared by therapists and starring Segel, Ford, [Jessica Williams,](https://apnews.com/article/north-america-ap-top-news-movies-jessica-williams-entertainment-726a5b33d3554f1fb061a1466dcdf7bc?utm_source=st.%20albert%20gazette&utm_campaign=st.%20albert%20gazette%3A%20outbound&utm_medium=referral) and Christa Miller. “But he’s so much fun to work with. Ford's character is a curmudgeonly colleague and mentor who delivers zingers with restrained glee.

Jason Segel co-created and stars as a grief-stricken therapist in an Apple TV+ comedy, co-starring Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams.

Ford injects a little bit of Han Solo into his grumpy, dryly sardonic Paul — “Hi, kid” are the first words he speaks to Luke, I mean to Jimmy — and his scenes with Maxwell, as the oldest and youngest cast members, are funny and pleasant, because they actually do seem to be working on something. Not that a big payoff is needed for good television; there’s something to be said for a low-stakes narrative, which is how most of us live most of the time. (That show is is famously “likable.”) Jimmy does make some sort of progress — he reconnects with ghosted best friend Brian (Michael Urie), shows up (late) for a school conference — but he continually backslides, as if the show itself requires that he stays messed up for just a little longer. Gaby, who is also the best friend of Jimmy’s late wife, is getting divorced; next-door neighbor Liz (Christa Miller) is an empty-nester who has become, to Jimmy’s displeasure, a surrogate mother to Alice, though she would like people to know that she’s also “super cool. (Or, for that matter, frightening.) Jimmy overreacts to good news or bad, and one hopes for the sake of his friends and family — not to mention the viewer — that he manages to calm down a little. [was also a Season 2 story line](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-09-10/ted-lasso-season-2-dr-sharon-therapy-jason-sudeikis-sarah-niles).) But he was an optimist with the ability to see outside himself, and his methods mostly paid off; when they didn’t, it didn’t take him long to to adjust. Paul, who meets Alice on a park bench for informal therapy — she pays him in candy because, he says, “You’re poor and I like candy” — has Parkinson’s and some issues with an estranged daughter. His self-absorption is kind of the point, but it is a point stretched across 10 half-hours — more of a smear than a point. When Sean finds himself without a place to live, Jimmy moves him into his pool house, alarming the neighborhood Karen (Sean is Black), briefly discomfiting Alice and dismaying his colleagues for having crashed through an ethical boundary. The narrative proper begins with the arrival of Sean (Luke Tennie), a recently discharged veteran who has been getting into bar fights and has been court-ordered into therapy. He shares offices with his mentor, Paul, played by [Harrison Ford](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-14-ca-27033-story.html), and Gaby, played by Jessica Williams — in that respect, both Jimmy and Segel are lucky men. (To start, he generally looks to have just rolled out of bed, hungover — in a twist beginning, we take him for the patient and not the therapist.)

Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams tell E! News all about starring in Brett Goldstein and Jason Segel's new Apple TV+ comedy, Shrinking.

"I mean, he's done a lot of really interesting things." I also think he wanted to do a comedy, and as you've seen in the show, he's f--king funny and he never had that chance." "I went to meet Harrison Ford and he said yes so quickly that I then called Bill and was like, 'Something's wrong in the time-space continuum, Harrison Ford wants to do it and he really loved it,'" Goldstein told E! "I was really excited," she said. "Man, that guy shows up like a craftsman," he shared. "I hate to say it as someone who did it, but he really loved the script.

'Shrinking' Season 1 premiere recap: Grade Episode 1 of Apple TV Plus' new comedy starring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford.

Next, Jimmy has the “brilliant” idea to take Sean to a gym to spar for a bit, with hopes that the exercise will release his pent-up anger. She appears grateful for a second, but then admits his efforts are not enough to make up for his horrible behavior after the death of her mother. He hangs up excited to tell Sean that he “helped the sh*t out of her,” but Sean doesn’t seem impressed. Jimmy’s first session of the day is with Sean, who returned despite telling his parents that Jimmy “sucked balls.” (Got to love his honesty.) Jimmy promises Sean that he is “good at this,” ironically as his phone rings and he picks it up mid-session. After the unexpected outburst during Grace’s session, Jimmy joins his co-workers Gabby (Love Life’s Jessica Williams) and Paul (Star Wars’ Harrison Ford) in the breakroom and rants about his patients. In the beginning of the episode, we see our main character, Segel’s Jimmy, interrupted by his concerned neighbor Liz (Cougar Town’s Christa Miller), during a late-night backyard pool party filled with drugs, alcohol and the company of two young women.

Find out when and where to watch Shrinking, the new comedy series from the creators of Ted Lasso featuring Jason Segel, Harrison Ford, and more.

[Jason Sudeikis](https://collider.com/tag/jason-sudeikis/)), who receives a job offer to become the new coach of a British soccer team. This series has a similar narrative to that of the Apple TV + original, and it also utilizes comedy to talk about the challenges that come with grief. Although he has no knowledge of soccer or familiarity with the British lifestyle, he accepts the challenge. While the protagonist relies on friends and co-workers (especially Paul, played by none other than [Harrison Ford](https://collider.com/tag/harrison-ford/)) to cope with the painful loss, he also tests an unconventional approach to therapy with his patients. [Apple TV+ original](https://collider.com/best-shows-on-apple-tv-plus/), so in order to watch it you must be subscribed to the platform. He begins to perceive that his lack of kindness is a superpower, because he can make as many people feel as hurt and offended as he wants without being remorseful. He begins to take drugs, annoys his next-door neighbor Liz (Christa Miller), and is unable to care for his own mental health. In [Shrinking](https://collider.com/shrinking-release-date-cast-trailer/), Jimmy Laird (a therapist played by [Jason Segel](https://collider.com/tag/jason-segel/)) mourns the death of his wife at the same time that he helps others to overcome equally overwhelming circumstances. Shrinking follows a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. The streaming service is also included in the [Apple One bundle](https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/apple-one), no matter the plan that you choose to acquire. [Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, the creators of Ted Lasso](https://collider.com/shrinking-tv-series-jason-segel-brett-goldstein-bill-lawrence/). That is changing with the new series from