Apple TV+ has been hitting the ground running with its original shows for some time now. From the award-winning Ted Lasso to the M. Night Shyamalan-created Servant, to miniseries such as Black Bird, the streaming platform has truly been blowing up with awesome stories to tell. And now, a new show from Lasso star Brett Goldstein and co-creator Bill Lawrence has arrived, called Shrinking.
The series, starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, documents the life of a therapist who is suffering from grief after losing his wife – and one day, he decides to just let it all go and tell his clients what he really feels about their issues. The Shrinking cast is filled to the brim with stars. Here is where you might have seen them before.
Harrison Ford (Paul)
Harrison Ford plays Paul in the series, another therapist, and boy, if you haven’t seen this actor before, I fear you’ve been living under a rock. Ford has been in many movies throughout his career, but is mainly known for his roles in huge franchises. He portrayed Han Solo in the Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones films (for which he is coming back to the role for a fifth and final film), and was one of the stars of the Blade Runner films, as well as starring as the titular character in the 1992 and 1994 Jack Ryan movies, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger.
Besides that, he’s appeared in many non-franchise movies as well, such as The Conversation, The Mosquito Coast, American Graffiti, The Age of Adaline, Random Hearts and more. Ford has mainly stuck to movies in the last fifty or so years, but he has had several guest appearances on television shows – and, most recently, took on a starring role in the Yellowstone spinoff series, 1923.
Jason Segel (Jimmy Laird)
For people like me, Jason Segel is part of this generation’s comedy legends, and he is the star of Shrinking, where he plays Jimmy Laird. Segel is primarily known for his starring role in the legend–wait for it–dary show, How I Met Your Mother, but has appeared in several other shows including Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and 2022’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
Segel has also starred in several comedic films, including Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, Bad Teacher, Gulliver’s Travels, The Five-Year Engagement and The Muppets. He was also in the Apple TV+ movie, The Sky is Everywhere in 2022.
Jessica Williams (Gaby)
Moving on, we take a look at Jessica Williams, who plays Gaby in the new show, another therapist who works with Jimmy. Williams was a major correspondent on The Daily Show for some time, but has appeared in main and recurring roles in other shows such as Girls, Just for Kicks, and had a main role in the HBO Max original show, Love Life, in Season 2.
In terms of films, she’s primarily been in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise, where she’s portrayed Lally Hicks in both Crimes of Grindelwald and Secrets of Dumbledore. She was also in the coming-of-age film, Booksmart, and in the movie Corporate Animals.
Luke Tennie (Sean)
Next up on the list, we have Luke Tennie, who portrays Sean, a client of Jimmy’s who is featured very heavily throughout the trailer. Tennie has appeared in a few films in his career so far, which include Shock and Awe, as well as Thriller and Safety.
He’s also appeared in a few television shows as well. He was a part of the cast of the Benedict Wong-led show, Deadly Class, but he also appeared in shows such as CSI: Vegas, Players, and On the Verge. I, for one can’t wait to see what he does next after a big show such as this.
Michael Urie (Brian)
Next up on the Shrinking cast list is Michael Urie, who has the privilege of playing Brian in the new Apple TV+ series. Urie has been in television for some time now, and has had multiple big and recurring roles. He’s primarily known for his role in the hit show, Ugly Betty, but has since appeared in many other TV series.
He had a main role in Mode After Hours, as well as Partners. He also appeared in Younger, as well as Almost Family and Bite, all three of which has a recurring role of some sort for the actor. Urie has also appeared in several movies, including He’s Way More Famous Than You, the hilarious modern Christmas movie, Single All The Way, and in the Apple TV+ original film, Swan Song, alongside Mahershala Ali.
Truly someone who has been around for some time – and it’s so exciting to see him back in a TV series now as a main character.
Christa Miller (Liz)
Moving on, we take a look at Christa Miller, who plays Liz in Shrinking, Jimmy’s neighbor who seems to be concerned about his behavior. Miller has been in a few movies, including Kiss & Tell, The Operator, Hot Air, and Breaking In, but she’s mainly used a lot of her talents on television.
She had a main role on the Courteney Cox-led show, Cougar Town, for several seasons, as well as The Drew Carey Show, but she’s also appeared in recurring roles on several other television shows that you might recognize her from. These include the medical comedy Scrubs (whom Bill Lawrence also created), Head of the Class and Clone High. Now, she’s back in the seat as a main character and it’s great to see her in a show such as this.
Lukita Maxwell (Alice)
Last up on the list, we take a look at Lukita Maxwell, a relative newcomer to Hollywood. She hasn’t been in any feature films yet, but she has appeared in a few shows prior to her role as Alice in Shrinking, Jimmy's young daughter who is also suffering from the loss of her mother.
Maxwell appeared in the HBO Max show, Generation, as well as the series Speechless. Hopefully after this, we’ll get to see a heck of a lot more of her.
With such a star-studded cast, here's hoping that Shrinking will lead to us seeing even more of these stars in the future – and that they'll possibly even shine brighter than ever before.
