Ted McGinley and Christa Miller in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
In keeping with other shows co-created by Bill Lawrence (‘Spin City’), ‘Shrinking’ has long since evolved from a focus on Jason Segel and Harrison Ford’s therapist characters to embrace a wider circle of friends and relations.
The third season keeps that idea and feeling intact, and also maintains the entertainingly loose comedy atmosphere while also delivering the occasional emotional gut punch.
Script and Direction
Devin Kawaoka and Michael Urie in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
Lawrence, Segel and co-creator Brett Goldstein (‘Ted Lasso’) lead the writing team down some familiar paths here, but that doesn’t stop the show from still being a successful, warm, easy watch.
There’s rarely much that is truly challenging here (though some topics, such as Parkinson’s and grief are still explored), but the vibe really is a group of characters you’re happy to spend time with.
Jessica Williams and Damon Wayans Jr. in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
The core ensemble remains excellent, funny and heartfelt as they follow their various paths.
But it’s in the new additions that we find some real fun –– Michael J. Fox shines as a Parkinson’s patient who interacts with Ford, while Sherry Cola is great as one of Gabby’s new therapy clients who is reticent to open up.
Final Thoughts
Jason Segel and Lukita Maxwell in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
The new season doesn’t exactly break massive new ground, but with a show like ‘Shrinking,’ you neither expect or want that.
What it does do is offer more chances for the characters to interact in fun, warm ways.
‘Shrinking’ Season 3 receives 76 out of 100.
Ted McGinley and Luke Tennie in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
What’s the plot of ‘Shrinking’ Season 3?
‘Shrinking’ follows a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives… including his own.
The 77th Emmys hosted by Nate Bargatze will air on CBS and Paramount+ September 14th.
Preview:
‘The Studio’, ‘Hacks’ and more won at the Emmy Awards.
Noah Wyle and Britt Lower were named lead actors in a drama for their shows.
Nate Bargatze hosted the show.
This year’s Emmy Awards were held on Sunday night, and there were a lot of expected winners, including repeat appearances from Team ‘Hacks‘ (Jean Smart scored fourth award) and ‘The Traitors’.
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Nate Bargatze hosted –– but beyond a relatively fun opening monologue taking expected swipes at TV such as ‘The Bear’ qualifying as comedy rather than drama, he wasn’t all that impressive as emcee for the night. The only element that worked was a running total donation to the Boys & Girls Club of America he promised, which went up and down according to how well winners kept to a 45-second speech limit.
Stephen Colbert was the first presenter of the night, and in a nod to his show being cancelled by CBS (the channel that ran the ceremony this year), asked nominee Harrison Ford to get his resume to Steven Spielberg.
The directing for a Limited Series category featured five women to one man. Of course the man won it! ‘Adolescence’ overseer Philip Barantini took the trophy — the limited series itself won a clutch of awards.
The 2025 Emmy nominees were announced this morning.
‘Severance’, ‘The Penguin’ and ‘The Studio’ scored the most nominations.
‘Paradise’ and Netflix limited series ‘Adolescence’ were among the new arrivals.
The 2025 Emmy Award nominees were announced this morning by ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ actor Harvey Guillen and ‘Running Point’s Brenda Song, though the Television Academy spurred some grumbling by choosing to have two categories –– Outstanding Talk Series and Reality Competition Series –– four hours early on ‘CBS Mornings.’
This year, from a critical and awards standpoint, it was clear that the second season of Apple TV+ sci-fi drama ‘Severance’ was worth waiting for –– it nabbed 27 nominations, including Drama Series and a shot at a clutch of acting awards.
Harrison Ford in ‘Shrinking,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
It was also a good day for aging actors in terms of awards: Harrison Ford landed his first career Emmy nomination for his role in ‘Shrinking’, making him the second oldest actor to earn one, while Kathy Bates became the oldest woman nominated in the Drama Lead Actress category thanks to her work on ‘Matlock.’
Not having such a great time of it? Elisabeth Moss, who failed to land a nomination for the final season of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, while ‘Yellowjackets’ was notably absent from the list and despite the show and its stars repeating, ‘The Bear’s creator Christopher Storer didn’t make the cut this time around.
(L to R) Sandra Diaz-Twine, Trishelle Cannatella, Chris ‘C.T.’ Tamburello, Alan Cumming, Kate Chastain, Mercedes “MJ” Javid in ‘The Traitors’. Photo by: Euan Cherry/Peacock.
The 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards will air Sunday, February 23rd on Netflix. Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
Movie actors Timothée Chalamet and Kieran Culkin won at the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
On the TV front, ‘Shogun’ did well, taking three awards.
The event was held on Sunday night at the Shrine Auditorium.
This year’s movie awards season is careening towards its conclusion with next weekend’s Oscars, but this Sunday was the turn of the actors, with the Screen Actors Guild Awards, broadcast for the second time on Netflix and hosted once again by Kristen Bell.
With the focus, a little like the Critics Choice before it, on Los Angeles and the incredible impact of the wildfires on the city and its environs this year, there was time for a tribute to the first responders who fought the flames and provided aid.
But actors being actors, this was mostly a chance to celebrate, well, acting, as Bell launched into a monologue –– parodying a song from ‘Frozen,’ which we suppose she’s one of the few people who can still get away with that after this many years –– to look at various actors’ early jobs.
The 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards will air Sunday, February 23rd on Netflix. Photo: Netflix.
Otherwise, it was award show business as usual –– trophies were handed out, speeches read and jokes attempted.
The main movies up for ensemble had their casts out “presenting” each title, and those seemed particularly awkward, with little evidence of rehearsal or prep.
Other presenter duos seemed like they’d been imbibing or were simply nervous, with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson stumbling through their spiel and even the steps in presenting an award. For reference, it goes read nominees, wait for nominee intro list, read winner.
As for those who claimed awards, there were the predictable ones: Kieran Culkin accepted yet another trophy for ‘A Real Pain’ and if there’s a nailed-on prospect for an Oscar, he’s surely at the top of the list. His rambling speech also began one of the night’s running gags, with several winners (and at least one presenter) referring to how heavy the “actor” award statuette is. Zoe Saldaña added more hardware for her trophy cabinet for ‘Emilia Pérez’, while cast members of ‘Shōgun,’ ‘Baby Reindeer’ and ‘The Penguin’ won more awards.
The nominations for the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards were announced on the morning of Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Initial plans to stream the nominations live with hosts Joey King and Cooper Koch were canceled due to the horrific fires that are ravaging the greater Los Angeles area, with the list of nominees posted online instead.
The nominees on the motion picture side provided a further twist to the impending Oscar race, as ‘Emilia Perez’ – which walked away with four prizes at last Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony – continued to rack up multiple nominations, including Best Ensemble, Best Female Lead Performance for Karla Sofía Garcón, and Best Female Supporting Performance for Zoe Saldaña.
But while the Globes’ other big winner, ‘The Brutalist,’ was represented here by a sole nomination for Adrien Brody in Best Male Lead Performance, the musical fantasy ‘Wicked’ was a SAG favorite, with nominations for Best Ensemble, Best Female Lead Performance for Cynthia Erivo, Best Female Supporting Performance for Ariana Grande, and Best Male Supporting Performance for Jonathan Bailey.
Also a surprise: while Jeremy Strong got the nod in the Best Male Supporting Performance category for his malevolent turn as Roy Cohn in ‘The Apprentice,’ star Sebastian Stan did not land a nomination for either his star turn in that or ‘A Different Man,’ for which he won the Golden Globe on Sunday.
On the television side, ‘Shōgun’ followed its Emmys and Golden Globes winning streak with four nominations, including Best Ensemble in a Drama Series, two Best Male Actor nods, and a Best Female Actor nom. Additional multiple nominees in both the ensemble and individual acting categories included ‘The Bear,’ ‘The Diplomat,’ and ‘Hacks.’
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The 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will stream live globally on Netflix from the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
For ‘Bad Monkey’, he and a producing/writing/directing team that includes Jeff Ingold, Matt Tarses, Marcos Siega, Liza Katzer and star Vince Vaughn skew more towards the dramatic side of either of his previous works, though given that it adapts the work of satirist and Floridian crime expert Carl Hiaasen, also skews comedic when needed.
(L to R) Vince Vaughn and Natalie Martinez in ‘Bad Monkey,’ premiering August 14, 2024 on Apple TV+.
Bringing Carl Hiaasen’s work to the screen has been a hit-or-miss affair in the past and given that the biggest title spawned from his writing is 1996 Demi Moore-starring drama ‘Striptease’, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s mostly miss.
Still, television feels like a more natural home for his work, and the rambling serio-comic crime caper that is ‘Bad Monkey’ certainly has the time to tell its story, with an Apple TV budget to bring the Floridian visuals to life in all their sun-drenched humidity.
It’s also entertaining to see Vince Vaughn make one of his occasional forays into TV; his last lead role was, let’s not forget, on the benighted second season of ‘True Detective’, and fortunately ‘Bad Monkey’ feels much more suited to his particular comedy stylings.
‘Bad Monkey’ Season 3: Script and Direction
(L to R) Meredith Hagner and Rob Delaney in ‘Bad Monkey,’ premiering August 14, 2024 on Apple TV+.
Lawrence as showrunner here leans into the low-key crime style that Hiaasen’s novels for adults have come to rely on. The new show is full of the oddballs that populate his books, usually up to no good –– and the ones who are on the side of the law are just as weird in their own way.
It takes a while for the whole thing to truly get going, but once it established the storyline, there’s more than enough entertainment value to be found watching Vaughn’s character work his way through the twisty mystery.
Zach Braff in ‘Bad Monkey,’ premiering August 14, 2024 on Apple TV+.
One subplot, featuring his off-again-on-again lover Bonnie Witt (Michelle Monaghan) never quite gels with the rest, though, and there’s an uncomfortably awkward whiff of creepiness about her character, a teacher who slept with a student years ago. It’s one of the few missteps the story makes.
Directors Marcos Siega (who supervises), Colin Bucksey, Erica Dunton, Liz Friedlander and Sam Jones all bring the required flare to the show while also giving the script and actors room to do their thing.
‘Bad Monkey’: Performances
(L to R) Charlotte Lawrence and Meredith Hagner in ‘Bad Monkey,’ premiering August 14, 2024 on Apple TV+.
‘Bad Monkey’ boasts a solid ensemble who bring the various characters to life with an ease and charm that works on different levels.
Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy
While it might seem like it takes Vaughn an episode or two to truly hit the right vibe as Yancy –– much as the show itself needs a moment to truly find its groove –– he’s great as the sardonic, witty leading man, a cop on suspension who is making ends meet as a food inspector. His chemistry with the likes of Natalie Martinez in particular is easy and warm, and he can deliver the chewy dialogue without it seeming forced.
Natalie Martinez as Rosa Campesino
Martinez’ Rosa is the Miami pathologist chafing against the depressing ghoulishness of her job who finds herself drawn into Yancy’s investigation and soon sparks a relationship with him that spills into the personal. As a foil for Vaughn and a character in general, Martinez is great in the series, sparky and spiky when needed, dealing with her family and just the right amount of sarcastic to match Vaughn’s energy.
Rob Delaney as Christopher
Rob Delaney tends to crush it in smaller supporting roles, and here he’s handed a character with more to do than usual, and absolutely nails the sort of nervous-yet-over-confident energy that an unexpectedly criminal type such as Christopher needs. He’s both in over his head and nasty when called upon, yet always watchable.
Meredith Hagner as Eve
The dominant force in Christopher’s life and his partner in crime, Meredith Hagner is excellent as the needy, pragmatic and often whiny Eve, who masterminds a scheme to make them both rich. Hagner makes her come alive in a way that is both human and horrific and gives her more life than the seemingly one-note character might suggest.
Michelle Monaghan in ‘Bad Monkey,’ premiering August 14, 2024 on Apple TV+.
Michelle Monaghan as Bonnie Witt
As mentioned above, the Bonnie character gave me real pause, and aside from a few moments, feels like something that could have been taken out of the story without sacrificing all that much. Still, that’s no fault of Monaghan, who does what she can with the role.
Jodie Turner-Smith as the Dragon Queen
Jodie Turner-Smith, a little like Delaney (but in very different roles), has been doing great work with supporting characters of late, especially in ‘The Acolyte’. Here, she has a more rounded role to bring to life, the mysterious and seemingly powerful sorceress who is in reality very complicated She’s fantastic, projecting supreme confidence when needed and utter vulnerability at other times.
Jodie Turner-Smith in ‘Bad Monkey,’ premiering August 14, 2024 on Apple TV+.
Other notable characters
The season is blessed with a solid ensemble, including John Ortiz as Yancy’s former police partner Rogelio and, in true Lawrence fashion, since he loves putting his family in his work, Charlotte Lawrence as Christopher’s daughter (and yes, she avoids the “nepo baby” criticism by being suitably prickly and fun in the role).
‘Bad Monkey’: Final Thoughts
John Ortiz in ‘Bad Monkey,’ premiering August 14, 2024 on Apple TV+.
It might be called ‘Bad Monkey’ (with Crystal from ‘The Hangover’ playing the titular simian), but this show never really lives up to its title, since the creature plays a very small role in the story at all.
Don’t let that put you off though –– this is a twisty, funny, dramatic and chaotic comedy drama and a successful attempt to bring Carl Hiaasen’s work to the screen.
‘Bad Monkey’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Bad Monkey’?
‘Bad Monkey’ is the story of Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn), who has been bounced from the Miami Police Department and is now a health inspector in the Keys.
But after stumbling upon a case that begins with a human arm fished up by tourists, he realizes that if he can prove murder, he’ll be back in. He just needs to get past a trove of Floridian oddballs and one bad monkey.
Who else is in ‘Bad Monkey’?
The cast of ‘Bad Monkey’ also includes L. Scott Caldwell, Rob Delaney, Meredith Hagner, Natalie Martinez, Alex Moffat, Michelle Monaghan, Ronald Peet, Jodie Turner-Smith and Charlotte Lawrence.
Ronald Peet in ‘Bad Monkey,’ premiering August 14, 2024 on Apple TV+.
The series stars Segel as Jimmy Laird, a therapist who is dealing with severe grief from the recent death of his wife. While raising his teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell),
Jimmy begins to breach ethical barriers at work by telling his patients exactly what he thinks, resulting in massive changes to his and their lives, as well as the lives of his co-workers Gaby (Jessica Williams) and Dr. Paul Rhodes (Harrison Ford).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jason Segel about his work on ‘Shrinking,’ creating the series with Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence, Jimmy’s new found therapy style, how it affects his colleagues, his relationship with his daughter, and working with Harrison Ford.
Jason Segel stars in Apple TV+’s ‘Shrinking.’
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Segel, Brett Goldstein and Neil Goldman, Bill Lawrence, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, and Lukita Maxwell about ‘Shrinking.’
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk creating the series with Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence, and having the idea to set it in the world of therapy?
Jason Segel: Well, I must admit, I got very lucky. I had Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein come pitch me a pretty fully formed idea, and it was this show. I thought it sounded brilliant, and so I signed on very early and then brought whatever my secret sauce is to the table. But these guys had a really brilliant idea, which is somebody going through a nervous breakdown continuing to practice therapy.
MF: Jimmy’s personal life is falling apart and that begins to affect his work until he discovers a new way of doing therapy, can you talk about that?
JS: I think that there is a really magical element to rock bottom, which is that you’ve got nothing left to lose. The only place to go is up, and so it seems like a really pitiful position, but in a lot of ways it’s enviable. It’s only going up from here. So, you are watching a guy scramble his way out of rock bottom and trying to bring his patients with him because he recognizes that, it seems like we’re all stuck, and let’s get out of this mess.
(L to R) Jason Segel and Jessica Williams in ‘Shrinking,’ premiering January 27, 2023 on Apple TV+.
MF: Jimmy and his colleagues are all therapists with their own patients, but they act as therapists for each other as well. Can you talk about the relationships between Jimmy, Gaby, and Dr. Rhodes?
JS: Isn’t that the truth of life though? As you get older and learn to communicate better, we’re all each other’s kind of defacto therapists, right? But yes, me, Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford all work in a therapy office together. How crazy is that? And we have a lot of scenes of us therapizing each other, which are really fun.
MF: Harrison Ford is very funny in this series, and he hasn’t done a lot of comedy in the past. What was it like for you working with him and did you have any idea that he would be that funny?
JS: We underestimated how funny Harrison Ford was. We thought that the way that we would write Harrison Ford is kind of what you’d expect, that he would be the gruff straight man while we did comedy around him. But Harrison Ford is funny! He’s like a comedy savant. Wait until you see as these episodes go on. It just goes to show you how we all are limited by our own imaginations, but this guy knew what he was capable of doing and wanted to show it off.
(L to R) Harrison Ford and Lukita Maxwell in ‘Shrinking,’ premiering January 27, 2023 on Apple TV+.
MF: Finally, can you talk about Jimmy’s relationship with his daughter Alice, and how he’s trying to put the pieces of that relationship back together?
JS: It’s one of the primary storylines of this series. Jimmy, my character, has lost his wife in an accident, and in his spiral downward, this parental daughter relationship has flipped to where she is taking care of me now, and it is this slow road back. That to me is one of the main elements of the show, my character becoming an adequate father again.
Jason Segel in “‘Shrinking,’ premiering January 27, 2023 on Apple TV+.
Though you might think that team ‘Ted Lasso’ would be busy wrapping up the beloved soccer comedy (it recently finished shooting the third––and likely final (sob!)–– season in England), some of those involved in that Apple TV+ favorite have also been spending their time working on something else.
That something is ‘Shrinking’, a new comedy drama series co-created by and starring Jason Segel and some newcomer called (checks notes)… Harrison Ford?
Yes, the cinematic icon is indeed making a rare foray into TV for the show, which continues Apple’s apparent obsession with having as many shows as possible start with the letter “s” (‘Severance’, ‘Servant’, ‘Slow Horses’ and ‘Shantaram’ to name but four).
Bill Lawrence, the TV supremo who backed ‘Lasso’ (and helped develop it with stars Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt) here worked in a similar capacity alongside Segel and ‘Lasso’ writing/performing stalwart Brett Goldstein.
(L to R) Jason Segel as Jimmy Johns, and Harrison Ford as Dr. Phil Rhodes in Apple TV+’s series ‘Shrinking.’
Directors for this one have included James Ponsoldt and Lawrence’s old ‘Scrubs’ star Zach Braff, who has overseen several episodes of the producer’s shows in the past.
The teaser tells us almost nothing about the show, since it doesn’t feature actual footage, just shots of Segel, Williams and some of the other cast jumping on a mini trampoline while captions let us know that sometimes you need to have a breakdown to have a breakthrough.
And no, the team behind the series sensibly does not have the 80-year-old star of ‘Star Wars’ and the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise leaping into the air, both for safety and dignity’s sake. (Though we suppose they could have employed one of his stunt/photo doubles used in the latest Indy outing).
Harrison Ford as Dr. Phil Rhodes in Apple TV+’s series ‘Shrinking.’
Here’s what we know story-wise so far, via the official synopsis: ‘Shrinking’ follows a grieving therapist (Segel) who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives… including his own. So, there you have it.
We do at least know who Ford is playing, as character details were released when his casting was announced: He’s Dr. Phil Rhodes, a down-to earth, sharp as a tack “blue collar shrink,” blunt but with an ever present twinkle.
Phil is a pioneer in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy who has built a successful practice over the years that he shares with his two young proteges, Jimmy and Gaby. Fiercely independent, Phil has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which forces him out of his comfort zone as he grapples with intrusive friends, his estranged family and his legacy.
The first two episodes of ‘Shrinking’ will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, January 27th, followed by one of the remaining eight episodes weekly.
(L to R) Christa Miller as Liz, and Jessica Williams as Gaby in Apple TV+’s series ‘Shrinking.’
Actor Harrison Ford walks onstage at the Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
We’re much more used to Harrison Ford on the big screen in the likes of the ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Star Wars’ movies. Yet he’s now preparing to work on his first TV series regular role.
The 10-episode series will see Segel as a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives… including his own.
As for Ford, he’ll play Dr. Phil Rhodes, a down-to earth, sharp-as-a-tack “blue-collar shrink,” blunt but with an ever-present twinkle. Phil is a pioneer in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy who has built a successful practice over the years that he shares with his two young proteges, Jimmy and Gaby. Fiercely independent, Phil has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which forces him out of his comfort zone as he grapples with intrusive friends, his estranged family and his legacy.
This marks the latest show to come from the prodigious Bill Lawrence, who has been enjoying big success thanks to ‘Ted Lasso’, which is also produced by Apple. He has several series in production or development, but an executive producer on this one alongside ‘Lasso’ writer/actor Brett Goldstein (most recognizable as the perma-scowling Roy Kent from the soccer comedy).
‘Shrinking’ is coming together quickly and should be in production this year.
Jason Segel at the Los Angeles premiere of Netflix’s ‘Windfall.’
The storyline for this latest adventure is under strict security for now, but you just know it’ll involve Dr. Jones getting into scrapes as he tries to retrieve an object. That movie is scheduled to land in theaters on June 30th next year.
As opposed to Ford, Segel has largely found his groove on the small screen, appearing in shows such as ‘How I Met Your Mother’, ‘Dispatches from Elsewhere’ (which he also created) and, most recently, ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,’ in which he plays Paul Westhead.
‘Ted Lasso’, meanwhile, recently kicked off shooting its third (and, according to the creators, final) season in the UK and should be on our screens later this year.
