Bill Lawrence, the creator of several popular TV shows such as Scrubs, Ted Lasso, and Cougar Town, initially thought it was a joke when he heard that Harrison Ford agreed to join the cast of Shrinking.
Lawrence collaborated with Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein to bring Shrinking to life. The first season made its debut on AppleTV+ in January 2023, and now fans are eagerly welcoming the second season.
Shrinking quickly gained a loyal following, with some Twitter users calling it ‘the best show on television’. Reflecting its popularity, the show holds an impressive 90 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In addition to writing the series, Jason Segel leads the cast as Jimmy Laird, a therapist grappling with the loss of his wife while employing unconventional methods in his practice.
Jessica James, known for her role in Road House, appears as the therapist Gaby, and renowned actor Harrison Ford portrays Dr. Paul Rhoades.
The star-studded cast also includes Christa Miller, Michael Urie, known for Ugly Betty, and Wendie Mallick.
Despite the talented lineup, Lawrence described receiving news of Ford’s involvement as a ‘career highlight’.
In an interview with UNILAD, when questioned about Ford’s unexpected participation, Lawrence remarked: “I thought it was a practical joke, right? Come on, it’s nuts. If you’d have told 20-year-old me that I’m going to be making Indiana Jones sing Sugar Ray in a car… it’s insane.”
He further commented on Ford: “He’s so funny, he’s so game, he’s so inspiring. It’s really cool.”
Lawrence revealed that while Ford was the inspiration for the character of Paul, neither he, Goldstein, nor Segel anticipated Ford would actually take on the role.
He shared: “We wrote a Harrison Ford-type in the script, and then Brett Goldstein and Jason Segel were like, ‘What if he’ll do it?’ – it was just crazy.”
Lawrence added: “I still remember when he called me up.”
“I was in Florida doing Bad Monkey, and I’m like, this is weird, I’ve got a cell phone call from Harrison Ford.
“He goes, ‘Hey, I really like the pilot. I’m not really in it that much. Would I be in the other episodes more?’.
“I was like, ‘Yo, man. You can be in it as much as you want. You’re dumb enough to come do this. You can be in every scene’.”
Lawrence concluded: “He’s lovely and inspiring. It’s a career highlight for me.”
The second season of Shrinking begins today (Wednesday, October 16) on Apple TV+, with the first two episodes available immediately. New episodes will follow every Wednesday until December 25, 2024.