Don’t worry, “Shrinking” fans. Jimmy, Gabby, and the rest of the gang will be back in Season 4.
“Shrinking” will conclude its third season on Apple TV this week, with creator Bill Lawrence saying it will bring Season 3’s story to a close about grief, forgiveness, and moving forward. That’s why Lawrence, in an April 4 post on social media, promised “an entirely new story next year” and said he found it “scary/dangerous/fun.” In a follow-up, he added that season 4 will be “a new story with the same cast.”
Some “Shrink” fans misinterpreted these posts to mean that Season 4 of the show would go in a completely different direction, with the cast playing new characters.
However, Lawrence later confirmed that although the current third season of “The Shrinking” will end, the same actors will continue to play the same characters in season four. The only thing that will change is the new story arc. (The Pasadena/Altadena/Northeast Los Angeles area settings also remain the same.)
After people started misunderstanding his initial post, Lawrence wrote to X, “This all got weird. Lol. Bad. Yeah. They’re the same character.”
In an interview with Variety, Lawrence added, “I think when people come back to this show, they’re going to feel like it’s a completely different story. We feel like enough has happened in the lives of the characters on this show that we wanted to know what their new stories would be… We’re already deep in the writers’ room, well into Season 4, so we’re lucky to know what’s going to happen. And I think people will understand that.”
Lawrence also admitted that by the time The Shrinking returns for season 4, some time will have passed. “People shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a time jump and it feels like we’re telling a completely different story,” he says.
Apple TV renewed “Shrinking” for a fourth season earlier this year, ahead of the show’s season three premiere. Starring Jason Segel, the cast also includes Harrison Ford, Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Luke Tenney, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, and Ted McGinley. Segel will play therapist Jimmy Laird. He is recently widowed and spends the show’s first three seasons working through his loss and rebuilding relationships with his daughter, coworkers, friends, and neighbors.
The Season 3 finale of “Shrinking” will premiere on Apple TV on April 8th.
