Why ‘Shrinking’ Boss Says Harrison Ford Is ‘The Gift That Keeps On Comedic’ |

Why ‘Shrinking’ Boss Says Harrison Ford Is ‘The Gift That Keeps On Comedic’ |

If you’re a Harrison Ford fan checking out the Apple TV+ catalog during the service’s free weekend on January 4-5, you’ll want to take a look shrinkagea tragicomedy about a group of therapists and their friends who support each other as they grieve the sudden death of Jimmy’s (Jason Segel) wife Tia (Lilan Bowden).

Ford has always been funny, but he stuck to dramas and action-adventure films for most of his career. 1923 And shrinkage brought him to television for the first time, and the latter was his first ever television comedy. In the series, he plays a grumpy but lovable and successful therapist named Paul Rhodes alongside Segel’s Jimmy and Jessica Williams’ Gaby, Paul’s colleagues and friends. Paul slowly explains how his Parkinson’s disease changes his life over the course of the show’s two seasons (Season 3 is forthcoming).

In Season 2, which ended on the streaming platform on Christmas Eve, Paul fell in love with his former neurologist Julie (Wendie Malick) and tried to get Jimmy to go back into therapy after the man responsible for his death Woman responsible (series co-creator/executive producer Brett Goldstein (as Louis) shows up and tries to apologize for the fatal drunk driving accident. It’s heavy stuff, but shrinkage is all about balancing hard times with lightness, so there are plenty of moments where Ford’s comedic chops shine through (he and Segel are both nominated for the 2025 Golden Globes for their performances). For example, in the season two finale, there’s a moment where Julie tricks Paul into attending Gaby’s Thanksgiving dinner and he sticks his head out the car window and screams that he’s being kidnapped. And the comedic judgmental faces Ford is known for in public appearances are used frequently throughout the series when Paul interacts with people he loves to hate.

Executive producer Neil Goldman tells TV Insider what it’s like to write comedy for a screen legend like Ford.

“Look, he’s amazing, incredibly playful and open to almost anything, but I think, as it turns out, literally anything we throw at him comedically,” Goldman shares. “Unless it’s something he just doesn’t understand or understand, and if that’s the case, it usually turns out there’s a mistake in the writing or structure. But I can’t even remember a case when he wasn’t willing to at least try something. And that’s one of the amazing things about it.”

Harrison Ford and Wendie Malick in the Season 2 finale of “Shrinking.”

Harrison Ford and Wendie Malick are there shrinkage Season 2 Finale (Apple TV+)

Goldman says that the shrinkage When writing Ford’s material, they often break down in the writer’s room as they imagine him delivering the lines.

“We always knew he was funny and always knew he had the potential to be even funnier if writers focused on that side of him, not just the grouchy side but also the vulnerable side and that Kind of the sassy side,” Goldman says. “He’s just the gift that keeps on giving in a comedic way. It’s often difficult to make a room full of writers laugh, even when we’re dealing with things. But almost every time someone suggests a great Paul quote, the room laughs. We just imagine Harrison saying it, and almost always he says it exactly the way you imagined it. He has such a strong voice to write on.”

“He did it in a comedic way,” Goldman adds star Wars Legend. “He also really nailed it with his more emotional, pathetic scenes. So we couldn’t be happier and more fortunate to be working with him.”

shrinkage will return for a third, possibly final, season. Goldman teases what lies ahead for Paul and the others Crew in season 3 here.

shrinkageSeasons 1-2 available now, Apple TV+

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