Don’t worry, “Shrinking” fans: Jimmy, Gabby and the rest of the gang will be back for Season 4.
“Shrinking” wraps its Season 3 this week on Apple TV with what creator Bill Lawrence has said ends a three-season arc about grief, forgiveness and moving forward. That’s why, in an April 4 post on social media, Lawrence promised “a completely new story next year” that he said felt “scary/risky/fun.” In a follow-up, he added that Season 4 would be “a new story with the same cast.”
Some “Shrinking” fans misinterpreted those posts to mean that the show’s Season 4 would go in an entirely different direction, with the cast playing new characters.
But Lawrence has since confirmed that although the current three-season arc of “Shrinking” is ending, the same actors will still be playing the same characters in Season 4. The only thing changing is a new story arc. (The Pasadena/Altadena/Northeast Los Angeles neighborhood setting will also remain the same.)
“This all got weird. lol. My bad. Yeah. They’re the same characters,” Lawrence wrote on X after people began to misunderstand his initial post.
In an interview with Variety, Lawrence added that “I think people will feel when they come back to this show that it’s a completely different story. We feel that the characters of this show have enough stuff going on in their life that we were interested in seeing what a new story for these characters looks like… We’re already deep into the writers room, in the fourth season, so I’m lucky enough to know what happens. And I think people will dig it.”
Lawrence also confirmed that when “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 said.
Apple TV renewed “Shrinking” for Season 4 earlier this year, in advance of the show’s Season 3 premiere. Jason Segel stars along with Harrison Ford, Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell and Ted McGinley. Segel plays therapist Jimmy Laird, who is a recent widower who over the show’s first three seasons navigates his loss and rebuilds his relationship with his daughter, colleagues, friends and neighbors.
The Season 3 finale of “Shrinking” premieres April 8 on Apple TV.
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