‘Shrinking’: Michael J. Fox Sets Acting Return for Season 3 — Everything We Know

Michael J. Fox will return to acting for a guest star role in Shrinking Season 3 on Apple TV+, reuniting him with his Spin City creator, Bill Lawrence, who’s a co-creator and EP of the streaming comedy. Fox joins Jeff Daniels as a new guest star for Season 3, which will also see Sherry Cola and Isabella Gomez added to the cast.

Shrinking follows grieving therapist Jimmy (Jason 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. Ford plays his curmudgeonly boss, Paul (Harrison Ford), with Jessica Williams as their colleague and friend, Gaby.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s to come in Season 3, which could be its last, based on previous comments from co-creator Bill Lawrence.

Who is in the Shrinking cast?

Michael J. Fox’s Shrinking role is being kept under wraps for now. But it’s likely that he’ll be narratively connected to Harrison Ford’s Paul Rhoades, who was revealed to have Parkinson’s Disease in Season 1.

In Season 2, the symptoms of Paul’s Parkinson’s were progressing faster than expected. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 and revealed his diagnosis publicly in 1998. Shrinking will mark Fox’s first acting role since reprising his Good Wife character in 2020 on The Good Fight. Apple TV+ also recently partnered with Fox on the acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning documentary, STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie.

Daniels will guest star as Jimmy’s father in the third season. It’s not known who Cola and Gomez will play in Season 3.

Shrinking is co-created by Lawrence and cast members Segel and Brett Goldstein. All three of them are also executive producers and writers (Goldstein joined the cast in Season 2). Their costars are Christa Miller (Liz), Michael Urie (Bryan), Ted McGinley (Derek), Luke Tennie (Sean), and Lukita Maxwell (Alice). Paul is one of Ford’s first television lead roles (he also starred in the Yellowstone prequel 1923 — the shows debuted within one month of each other in December 2022 and January 2023).

Damon Wayans Jr. guest starred as Derek, a new love interest for Williams’ Gaby, in Season 2, the finale of which set up his potential return next season. Devin Kawaoka will presumably return as Brian’s husband, Charlie. The couple adopted a child in Season 2. And Wendie Malick, who plays Paul’s partner, Julie, will likely be back as well. Lily Rabe guest stars as Paul’s daughter, and Kelly Bishop made a surprise appearance in Season 2 as Paul’s ex-wife.

Is Shrinking ending with Season 3?

The theme for Season 2, as Lawrence previously told TV Insider, was “forgiveness.” The third and possible final season will be themed “moving forward,” as Lawrence previously shared. The 2024 renewal announcement didn’t say that Season 3 is the final season, but Lawrence does pitch his Apple TV+ shows as three-season stories. So that possibility is still up in the air.

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“I’m so lucky to work on Shrinking with actors, writers, and a crew so talented that they all elevate the material,” Lawrence, who also executive produces, said in a statement in the renewal announcement. “I’m even luckier that they are people I’d want to spend time with anyway. Huge thanks to Apple TV+ and Warner Bros. for the amazing partnership and support. So grateful we get to keep making this show. Onward!”

“It has been wonderful to watch audiences around the world fall in the love with the memorable characters and rich world that Bill, Brett and Jason have created in ‘Shrinking,’” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+. “We are incredibly excited for viewers to see where life takes Jimmy, Paul, Liz, Gabby, Alice, Sean, Brian and Derek, next as they continue on their moving, heartwarming and very funny journey in season three.”

The series is produced for Apple TV+ by Warner Bros. Television. Lawrence, Segel, Goldstein, Neil Goldman, James Ponsoldt, Jeff Ingold, Liza Katzer, Randall Winston, Annie Mebane, Rachna Fruchbom, and Brian Gallivan all serve as executive producers on Season 2. Ashley Nicole Black and Bill Posley will serve as executive producers on Season 3.

Shrinking, Season 3 Premiere, TBA, Apple TV+