Shrinking is back in action with another hilarious, heartfelt season on Apple TV+, and the great Harrison Ford is better than ever before.
In Season 2 of the Emmy-nominated comedy from Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel, and Brett Goldstein, Ford returns as Paul Rhoades, a therapist with advancing Parkinson’s disease who’s owning up to past mistakes, showing up for loved ones, confronting mortality, and navigating life with a balance of hilarious sarcasm and moving vulnerability.
Shrinking is a spectacular showcase for Ford’s comedic chops and dramatic skill. The legendary actor brings an undeniable level of star power to the series, and as fans of the show might expect, Shrinking‘s cast and creators love working with him as much as viewers love watching him.
“I feel really, really lucky every time I’m acting with Harrison,” Segel, who plays Paul’s fellow therapist Jimmy, told Decider over Zoom. “I have a brain that wants to tell me that something’s wrong, or that I missed an off ramp somewhere; that it’s not going OK or I could have done better. And one of the great sedatives about acting with Harrison Ford is that as impossible to be sitting across from Harrison doing a dramatic scene and feel like something is wrong. I only feel like, ‘You did it. It all ended up OK.’”
In Season 2 especially, Ford shares a significant number of scenes outside the office with Wendie Malick, who plays Paul’s girlfriend Julie. The two share remarkable on-screen chemistry, consistently taking each other’s performances to new heights. And Jessica Williams, who plays Paul’s fellow therapist Gaby, is just as delighted by the duo in real life as her Shrinking character is on-screen.
“I am obsessed with Wendie Malick. She is such a frickin’ babe. Just a nice lady. An incredible babe. And Harrison Ford is also a hot person as well. You know? That’s just a hot dude. So I get really excited when I get to play scenes where Gaby is enamored with them together. It’s just really funny,” Williams told Decider over Zoom.
When asked about her experience working alongside Ford, Williams stressed that the 82-year-old actor is just how he seems. “When you watch any interviews with him, that’s that’s him. He loves the work and he’s a giving actor and he works really hard. It’s a joy to work with him. One of my favorite memories that I had from this past season was — I’ve worked with him quite a bit at this point — and maybe in the last two days we were sitting in between takes and he looks to me like he just realized something. I was like, ‘What?’ And he’s like, ‘I worked with you this whole time. I don’t know anything about you. What’s your deal?’ He was finally asking me two days before we wrap, ‘Where do you live? What do you like to do? Just shit that happens in my spare time.’ And it was really delightful. It just felt like a classic Harrison Ford moment. And it’s so Paul.”
One of the most universally adored scenes from Shrinking Season 1 saw Williams and Ford belting a Sugar Ray song in Gaby’s car, and the two kept the carpool karaoke going when Ford sang a few The Outfield’s “Your Love” in the Season 2 premiere. Sadly, Williams says “that is the last of [Ford singing] this season. I wish we had more. We do not, unfortunately.” However, there are plenty more hilarious one-liners (a la “raw dog”) and powerful performances to come.
While Shrinking‘s cast — including Ford’s real-life neighbor Christa Miller — has gotten used to working alongside the Star Wars and Indiana Jones actor in Season 2, they’re still regularly impressed by his talent.
“I love Harrison, but I’m not starstruck, because he busts my chops so much. And I bust his chops, too,” Miller laughed. “Harrison is just the funniest person in real life. And so lovely. He’s really good this season. He really is fantastic.”
No matter what became of Shrinking, others like co-creator and showrunner Bill Lawrence will always consider working with Ford as a major career milestone.
“I said it before — what a career highlight for me to be involved in this guy’s career and get to talk to him on the day to day. The coolest thing for us that’s happening the second year is that he showed up with a level of trust that we did not know we had earned and would say or do almost anything. And you can see that,” Lawrence said. “What a gamer. Watching him do all that stuff and then essentially pack up his dressing room and go ‘I’ve got to leave for Marvel movie tomorrow, and then after that 1923,’ it’s so inspiring to watch him bouncing around.”
New episodes of Shrinking Season 2 premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
