SHRINKING Creator Bill Lawrence Assures Fans Harrison Ford Isn't Leaving in Season 4 and Teases His Possible Storyline
Shrinking was created by Jason Segel, Bill Lawrence, and Brett Goldstein. Lawrence and Goldstein were also on the team that brought Ted Lasso to our screens.
Each of these series was planned for three seasons only with a full story arc to be told and completed, but after such an intense fan following for each show, they are both returning for fourth seasons.
But after what could have been seen as a beautiful wrap up, some fans are wondering what this will mean for Harrison Ford’s Shrinking character, Paul.
At the end of the third season, he moved back east to be close to his daughter and grandson as he battles Parkinson’s disease. So will he still be a part of the story? Bill Lawrence says yes.
“I would be insane not to find a way for Harrison Ford to be in the show in perpetuity. He is not disappearing,” Lawrence told Deadline. “We tell another story. We’re gonna jump ahead a couple years and see where everybody’s at, and we have a new story to tell. [Harrison Ford] will be part of it. He’s not leaving.”
“Part of the fun is, if this three story [arc] ends and he’s gonna go try and be with his family in Connecticut, I’m fascinated, along with the writing staff, of what does that look like a couple of years from now?” Lawrence added.
“Did it work? Is it hard? Does he miss people? Is he doing better? Is he doing worse? And the one thing I can tell you, Harrison’s such an inspiring guy as a performer, to watch him play that character. We’re going to make sure that it reads the same way.”
“I think that push was supposed to feel like Jimmy’s gotten over the mountain, and that no matter what it ends up looking like, the thought of that character being alone for the rest of his life, I think, is super sad. It’s hard to watch that last episode,” Lawrence said.
“Whether it’s Cobie Smulders — whether it’s Sofi or not — I’m not gonna lock that up for people, knowing that this is a guy that has — if you’re a TV fan and you’re a TV nerd, you watch TV like I watch TV — then you know that Jimmy’s journey to whether or not he finds the next chapter in his life and who that might be is without a doubt a story we’ll tell.”
As for any perceived memory issues or mental decline, Paul’s age, and not necessarily the Parkinson’s, could be a factor.
“With Parkinson’s you can stay sharp as a tack. He’s getting older, the character, Paul. Independently of Parkinson’s, older people have to deal with that stuff.
“And there’s something called Lewy bodies with Parkinson’s, it’s a kind of dementia that comes with Parkinson’s, but we aren’t necessarily writing about that. I only know the Lewy bodies thing — and I don’t want to talk about it too much, but my dad has Lewy bodies.”
I am so glad that Shrinking is returning for a fourth season. It’s such a great series, and it wouldn’t be the same without Harrison Ford’s character Paul. Stay tuned for updates on the returning series.