In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo cries tears of joy for Apple TV+’s new dramedy, “Shrinking.” Created by Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs,” “Ted Lasso”), Brett Goldstein (“Ted Lasso,” “Thor: Love and Thunder”), and Jason Segel (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “How I Met Your Mother”), the show follows Jimmy (Segel), a therapist who has gone off the deep end after the death of his wife. Ignoring the advice of colleagues, his schooling, and common sense, Jimmy decides to make big changes to the way he practices and lives his life, resulting in huge victories and even more drama. The series also stars Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller and more.
Joining Bingeworthy to discuss the show is co-creator and writer, Brett Goldstein. During the chat, Goldstein shared how the idea for “Shrinking” came from multiple sources that were then Frankenstein-ed together.
“I had been working on a show kind of in this area that was much darker,” Goldstein said. “And, years ago Bill Lawrence and I wanted to work on something together. I told him about this project, and he said, ‘Oh, I have something similar!’ But it was much lighter, which I think is the difference between the two of us. And we were like, ‘Well, if we put these together, that might be the best version of this show and, sort of, tonally, that’s where this show is.”
The show then became the perfect balance of sweet, funny, and heartbreaking, thanks to the talent of all involved, including Jason Segel, who came on to co-create the show after reading the first script. Goldstein describes knowing they had something special by the first read-through of the script with the whole cast & crew.
“The first readthrough was like a [comedy] gig,” Goldstein shared. “It was special. Like, big laughs, big tears, and, particularly with Harrison Ford. Knowing he hasn’t done a lot of comedy. He hasn’t been allowed to do full comedy, and he’s so funny. You could see, even with him, a kind of glee in his eyes. Like, these big laughs in this room – he’s like, ‘F—king hell, this is great!”
Obviously, Goldstein rose to stardom on the back of his “Ted Lasso” character Roy Kent. Fans of the show were heartbroken when it was said in an interview that Season 3 might be the end of the show. When asked directly if Season 3 is the end, Goldstein was predictably cagey.
“We’ve wrapped Season 3,” Goldstein said. “As for whether it’s definitely the end, I don’t know? I don’t know.”
Goldstein also had a brief cameo as the character Hercules in Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” last year. During the chat, he happily described the experience and not understanding Marvel’s full reach before taking the part.
“It was super quick.” Goldstein said. “It wasn’t far from filming it to it coming out, actually, but I genuinely didn’t tell anyone. I really wasn’t allowed to. It’s really funny because you go, ‘You know Marvel is big.’ Physically, it was only a day. And it’s a day of your life, and you move on with your life. And it comes out and the effect it had, in terms of people wanting to talk about it and asking about it. And you’re like, ‘Oh, Marvel’s really f—cking big!’ So, it’s really a surreal thing to have so much conversation over something that was just a day – just a simple day at work with your shirt off on top of a plinth.”
As for whether he comes back as Hercules or when, Marvel, as usual, has kept Goldstein in the dark about that information.
“I honestly don’t have any answers to that,” Goldstein said. “And it isn’t me being coy. I don’t know.”
The first two episodes of “Shrinking” will be streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday, January 27th, with new episodes premiering each Friday. You can listen to the full interview with Brett Goldstein below:
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