‘Shrinking’ Creator Confirms Harrison Ford Will Return for Season 4 as Show’s Grief Storyline Ends With ‘An Incredibly Optimistic and Happy’ Finale

Harrison Ford is still “Shrinking.” The Apple TV series wrapped its third season on Wednesday with a poignant episode that creator Bill Lawrence has repeatedly framed in interviews and social media as a finale of sorts. That’s gotten him into a bit of trouble, as fans began to assume that Lawrence planned to reinvent “Shrinking” as something entirely different next season.

But rest assured, as Variety told you on Monday, the same stars will be playing the same characters next season. And that includes Ford, who has been doing some of the best work of his entire career as Dr. Paul Rhoades and has signed on to return. At a “Shrinking” PaleyFest LA panel in Hollywood on Tuesday, Ford said his work on “Shrinkinghas been “one of the most pleasurable experiences of my life.”

Also back for Season 4 are the rest of the cast as well: Jason Segel (as Jimmy Laird), Jessica Williams (Gaby), Lukita Maxwell (Alice), Luke Tennie (Sean), Christa Miller (Liz), Michael Urie (Brian) and Ted McGinley (Derek), for starters. And yes, they’ll be playing the same characters — but on new journeys.

“I think people will feel when they come back to this show, that it’s a completely different story,” Lawrence said. “And the reason we agreed to do it was that we feel that the cast and characters of this show have enough stuff going on in their life that we are interested in seeing what a new story for these characters looks like.”

Apple TV renewed the show early enough that Lawrence said the “Shrinking” writers found ways to leave Easter eggs throughout Season 3 that hinted at what’s to come — so even though next year might feel different because the characters are in a different place, it will also feel earned because you’ve already seen some of those new tales begin.

“There’s some stuff in the third year that is left unresolved, and it hints that the next year will be different because of what characters are doing and where they’re going,” Lawrence said. “People shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a time jump and it feels like we’re telling a completely different story.”

And that starts with the growth of Jimmy, whose journey from grief in Season 1 (losing his wife Tia) to forgiveness in Season 2 (bonding with the man who accidentally killed her) and then moving forward in Season 3 (his starts and stops to finding new love) seems to have now resolved itself. At the end of Season 3, Episode 11, “And That’s Our Time,” Paul — who had just relocated to Connecticut — makes a quick flyby back to L. A. to help set Jimmy on his new path, starting by tricking him into breakfast with Cobie Smulders’ Sofi.

“If the fourth season of this show came on and Jimmy was like, ‘I’ve been thinking about it. I’m still super sad about my wife,’ I’d be like, ‘turn the TV off.’ You can’t do that again,” Lawrence said. “So we’re hoping people feel it’s an incredibly optimistic and happy ending.”

Lawrence lauded Segel for his work in the final two episodes of Season 3 as his character struggled with sending his daughter to school and being home, all alone, while also feeling abandoned by his father figure Paul. And then it all came down to that moment where Paul made the temendous gesture of returning to reassure Jimmy that it was OK to move on. “I just really thought he was amazing, watching him and feeling, as a fan of the show, that his kind of suffering was finally over,” Lawrence said.

But not all is resolved with Jimmy, as viewers saw this season that he still harbors daddy issues. Lawrence said that means Jeff Daniels will likely be back as his father, Randy Laird.

“I guarantee you, some of the people that watch the show know that they’ll probably see Jeff Daniels again,” he said. “And Cobie too. What’s that look like for a guy building a second relationship?”

Now that we know Ford is back (and presumably, Wendie Malick as his new wife Julie), you can surmise that part of his new storyline will still intersect Alice, who long relied on Paul as her therapist and will now be living just an hour away.

“It’s obviously with great intent that Harrison’s character is moving to a state where Alice goes to college,” Lawrence said.

Paul, of course, continues to face the reality of his Parkinson’s disease —and that will remain an important part of that character’s journey. In Season 3, Paul got to bond with fellow Parkinson’s patient Gerry, played by guest star Michael J. Fox. Lawrence said he hoped to bring back Fox for Season 4 in some capacity, and at PaleyFest, Fox said he was up for it: “I would love to do it – it would be my honor,” he said.

Luke Tennie, Jessica Williams, Lukita Maxwell, Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Jason Segel, Christa Miller, Bill Lawrence, Ted McGinley and Michael Urie at PaleyFest LA’s “Shrinking” panel on April 7.

Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Gaby will be taking over Paul’s practice and facilities to build a new crisis therapy clinic. But she’s still mourning the loss of her patient Maya (Sherry Cola), who died by suicide in Season 3.

“What’s it look like for a character like Gaby to have lost a patient in a fairly straightforward practice, and then, for whatever reason, be diving into treating people that are only dealing with stuff like that?” Lawrence said. “There’s the trauma of losing a patient that you may have crossed some boundaries and gotten too close to going directly into that world. Also, there’s still some tension between Gaby, her mom and her sister.”

Among other main characters, empty nesters Liz and Derek discovered in Season 3 that one of their sons is about to have a baby, giving the show plenty to mine as they will adjust to being grandparents. (Guest star Candice Bergen might also return as Derek’s mother — and Liz’s nemesis.) Sean has moved out of Jimmy’s pool house, has reunited with his girlfriend Marisol (Isabella Gomez) and is on his way to becoming a chef. Brian is still adjusting to being a parent, a role he was hesitant to fill at first.

“Sometimes people feel like Brian was somebody that entered, at least reluctantly, into building and having a family, and what is like that look like? We know that Brian’s childhood was tumultuous in terms of where he grew up, and their attitude towards his sexuality, but we still haven’t met his mom,” Lawrence said. “That’s with great intent.”

When asked if he has another three-season structure in mind for the next “Shrinking” chapter, Lawrence said he hadn’t mapped out a long-term plan with Apple TV or series producers Warner Bros. TV just yet. But, he added, “We aren’t going into this next season feeling like it’s the last one. There will always be material. You want to feel that people are changing and evolving. So, as long as we feel like we’re not treading water, and that we’re telling a new kind of cool story, we’ll hang with it. And who’s to say where a show like this could go.”

But as he sets out for a different “Shrinking” in Season 4, Lawrence also promised some consistency: “People will still live where they live. This is still a found family show where people think they spend way too much time together. And people will still recognize sets and locations, and even if they’ve been superficially changed or have a new look. I don’t want the show to suddenly be like, ‘oh, so they work at a corporate office downtown!’ Hopefully it will feel the same, but different in the story that we’re telling.”

Writing is already under way on Season 4, and Lawrence said he thought fans “will dig it. We wouldn’t do this show if all the actors and actresses didn’t want to keep going. The main impetus for continuing on and coming up with another story is, yes, we’re lucky enough that Apple wants us to keep going. But all the performers are having a blast. I feel like there’s plenty of stories to tell with these characters. We just can’t tell this one anymore.”