Shrinking is bringing on a few more special guest stars in its third season—including Michael J. Fox—but the Apple TV comedy series is not missing a beat. The good news is that April’s season finale is not a series finale after Apple TV announced a fourth season is on its way.

Michael J. Fox used one of his previous books to announce his retirement from acting. Something must have changed because he decided to come back for a few special appearances this season as Gerry, a patient of therapist Dr. Paul Rhodes (Harrison Ford). My guess is that it’s because both Paul and Fox are impacted by Parkinson’s. In any event, Fox makes a few appearances this season, and he’s likely going to be the front runner for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Maybe Ford will win a competitive Emmy, too. We’ll see.

Press were able to screen all 11 episodes of Shrinking’s third season, including the two-part season premiere, ahead of its launch on Wednesday. And while I’m not going to spoil any specifics until after those episodes air, I love how they manage to feature an Indiana Jones easter egg in the least intrusive way possible. When you have an actor of Ford’s caliber, it means a wealth of filmography that they could homage—most notably, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. I rewound the episode just to make sure I didn’t miss it. Believe me, as far as easter eggs go, they could have done worse.

During Shrinking’s second season, they were able to find the right balance between family and work life. During the third season, it feels like they have found themselves more on the family side than the work side. Not that there’s anything wrong with this because the series is honestly at its best when we get to see the family side of things. And believe me, we’d be worse off with fewer Derek (Ted McGinley) zingers or Liz (Christa Miller) being her meddling self.

What Shrinking does best is explore themes of found family and healing through connection, humor, and love. In three seasons, we’ve seen Sean (Luke Tennie) grow, going from Jimmy’s patient to really being one of the family, to the point where Derek trusts him. After forgiving himself for not being a better father to Alice (Lukita Maxwell) in the aftermath of Tia’s death, Jimmy attempts to move forward with his own life. This comes as Alice is set to graduate from high school and move away for college. Will Jimmy be able to love again, or will Tia’s shadow hang over any romance?

As Jimmy tries moving forward, unresolved issues come back into play when his father, Randy (Jeff Daniels), visits. Jimmy and Randy don’t have the best relationship, but this doesn’t stop him from winning over Alice or Jimmy’s other friends.

We learned in Shrinking’s first season that Paul was impacted by Parkinson’s. We’ve seen the impact on his character in the past two seasons. This season, though, things are going to get real—not in a bad way, but in needing to really start planning for the future. Realistically speaking, just how much longer will Paul be able to do his job as a therapist?

There are a lot of arcs that Shrinking explores in its third season. Brian (Michael Urie) and Charlie (Devin Kawaoka) are on the verge of becoming fathers, but they have a problem when it comes to setting boundaries with birth mother Ava (Claudia Sulewski). It’s one of those areas where you really need Liz to do her meddling; otherwise, they won’t be able to grow as a family. Elsewhere, Gaby (Jessica Williams) gets her own meaningful arc, both with Derrick #2 (Damon Wayans Jr.) and a patient (Sherry Cola).

Shrinking’s third season may test its characters in a number of ways but does so in a way that reminds viewers why it’s one of the best shows on television. Okay, a streaming service, if we want to be more specific.

CREATORS: Bill Lawrence & Jason Segel & Brett Goldstein
SHOWRUNNER: Bill Lawrence
DIRECTORS: Randall Winston, Zach Braff, Rebecca Asher, James Ponsoldt, Anu Valia
WRITERS: Brian Gallivan (3×01), Brett Goldstein (3×02), Bill Posley (3×03), Ashley Nicole Black (3×04), Sofi Selig(3×05), CJ Hoke (3×06), Zack Bornstein (3×07), Emily Wilson (3×08), Rachna Fruchbom (3×09), Brett Goldstein & Neil Goldman (3×10), Bill Lawrence & Brett Goldstein & Neil Goldman (3×11)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Bill Lawrence, Jeff Ingold, Liza Katzer, Jason Segel, Neil Goldman, Brett Goldstein, James Ponsoldt, Randall Winston, Rachna Fruchbom, Brian Gallivan
CAST: Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, Ted McGinley, with Christa Miller and Harrison Ford
SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY: Michael J. Fox, Jeff Daniels
SPECIAL GUEST STARS: Brett Goldstein, Damon Wayans Jr., Cobie Smulders, and Candice Bergen

Apple TV premiered season 3 of Shrinking on January 28, 2026. New episodes will stream weekly on Wednesdays through December 25, 2024. Grade: 4.5/5

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