{"id":381159,"date":"2026-04-08T09:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/381159\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T09:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:52:08","slug":"everyone-will-return-for-time-jump-in-season-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/381159\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyone Will Return for Time Jump in Season 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the season three finale of Shrinking<\/a>, \u201cAnd That\u2019s Our Time.\u201d]<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you are wondering if Shrinking just ended after that season three finale, don\u2019t worry \u2014 the show isn\u2019t over. It\u2019s coming back for season four<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut the season three finale, titled \u201cAnd That\u2019s Our Time,\u201d did feel like it could have been a series finale, and there\u2019s a reason for that: It was initially going to be the end of the show. The hit Apple series co-created by Bill Lawrence<\/a> with stars Jason Segel<\/a> and Brett Goldstein was pitched with a three-season plan, and Lawrence tells The Hollywood Reporter now that when they decided to continue on while writing season three, they wanted to stay true to that original vision.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve told the story of whether or not Jason Segel\u2019s Jimmy is going to make it through the death of his wife and come out the other side as someone who might be able to find joy and happiness in his life again,\u201d says Lawrence of season three ending with Jimmy being ready to pursue a relationship with Sofi (played by Cobie Smulders). \u201cThis is the finale of that three-season story. And I hope that people will dig it that when we come back \u2014 whether there\u2019s a time jump or not \u2014 that it\u2019ll feel like we\u2019re telling a completely different story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe episode felt like it could have been the end-end because everyone left Jimmy \u2014 albeit, most of them temporarily. After getting engaged, Gaby and Derrick No. 2 (Damon Wayans Jr.) decided to celebrate their impending nuptials by joining Liz (Christa Miller<\/a>) and Derek (Ted McGinley) on their extended trip to Barcelona; Brian (Michael Urie) and husband Charlie (Devin Kawaoka) are heading to Tennessee; and Sean (Luke Tennie) is moving out of Jimmy\u2019s pool house. Jimmy\u2019s daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell American) is also gone \u2014 she\u2019s off to college in Connecticut \u2014\u00a0and so is Jimmy\u2019s surrogate father Paul, played by Harrison Ford<\/a>, who moved away with wife Julie (Wendie Malick), also to Connecticut.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut don\u2019t worry \u2014 Lawrence says everyone, including Ford, will be back for season four, and a likely season five. And there will be a time jump when the gang gets back together.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s not an accident that Alice goes to school at Wesleyan University and that in the end of the finale, she\u2019s going by to have dinner at Paul\u2019s house,\u201d he teases. \u201cTime passage changes a lot of things \u2014\u00a0as to where people are, where they\u2019re living and how things have progressed. So, yes, Harrison\u2019s back on the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, prolific TV creator Lawrence answers more burning finale questions \u2014 including what Jimmy\u2019s second chance will look like when the show jumps ahead to season four \u2014 as he talks more about what the next era of Shrinking will be like when it returns.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tThis season finale felt like it could have been a series finale.<\/p>\n

\n\tI can explain that. This is the ending of the three-season story we pitched<\/a>. This is a narrative that I\u2019m trying to get out there. Here\u2019s what I love about doing streaming television. When I used to do Spin City and Scrubs and Cougar Town stuff, they would be like, \u201cWe want you to do this for 900 episodes, and nobody should ever change.\u201d Someone asked Zach Braff in the seventh year of Scrubs, \u201cHow much has J.D. changed since the first year?\u201d And he\u2019s like, \u201cI think I have a beard now?\u201d (Laughs.)<\/p>\n

\n\tBut now when you go to streaming, you pitch a beginning, middle and end. At least, I do. I went, \u201cThe first year of Shrinking is about grief and the second year is about forgiveness, and the third year is about moving forward through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019re lucky enough that we all like each other. The actors love the gig; Harrison\u2019s been cool and like, \u201cI don\u2019t care if this is my last gig ever,\u201d and Apple loves doing the show. But we decided as a staff that we are not going to veer from our three-season story. And that\u2019s because we\u2019re fans of the show. Everybody likes their own shit, but we\u2019re nerdy fans of the show and the actors and actresses \u2014 and if we turned on the fourth season and Jimmy was just sitting around saying to Paul, \u201cYou know, I\u2019ve been thinking about it, and I\u2019m still super sad about my wife,\u201d I\u2019d be like, \u201cI don\u2019t fucking want to watch this anymore. I already saw this!\u201d So our burden and our decision was: This is the end of that story. This is the finale of that three-season story. And I hope that people will dig it that when we come back, whether there\u2019s a time jump or not, that they\u2019ll feel like we\u2019re telling a completely different story.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the cool things is that Apple told us in time, so as writers \u2014\u00a0it was really challenging but \u2014 we were able to go, \u201cWhat are some Easter eggs we can put in so there are things we\u2019re addressing when we pick it up again two years later?\u201d We always do that on this show. Our fans are so savvy \u2014 they\u2019re always ahead of what we think are super hidden tricks! An example was in the second year. We love going online and messing with people who are trolls, and being nice with people who are fans, and we saw a lot of people saying, \u201cHow come Gaby hasn\u2019t ever had it out with Louis?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWe already had that planned in the third year \u2014 that the way to get this guy [Louis] extricated from this was to have the one person who is never going to forgive him go, \u201cGet the fuck out of here!\u201d So I think we ended the story, but also left a lot of Easter eggs for people to know characters who are coming back, things that\u2019ll be different work-wise and dynamics that will be a little different.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJimmy (Jason Segel) in the season three finale.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApple TV<\/p>\n

\n\tI remember when you spoke with THR at the beginning of Shrinking<\/a> about your three-season plan, so this all makes a lot of sense to hear now. At what point did you guys make that decision to continue on, was it while you were making season three?<\/p>\n

\n\tYes. We were in the middle of writing season three. We knew Apple was into us continuing on, so we talked to the cast: \u201cGuys, are you interested in doing this still?\u201d And then, \u201cAre we all interested in doing it still?\u201d Then we had to talk a little and asked ourselves, \u201cIs there a new story to tell?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe thing we\u2019re so lucky about is that top to bottom \u2014 not only the main cast, but even secondary characters like Rachel Stubington, who plays Summer; and Damon Wayans Jr. or Wendie Malick \u2014 we find them all so interesting. There are still a bunch of stories to tell.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat we\u2019ve told is the story of whether or not Jason Segel\u2019s Jimmy is going to make it through the death of his wife and come out the other side as someone who might be able to find joy and happiness in his life again.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs the entire ensemble returning?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe entire ensemble is returning.<\/p>\n

\n\tIncluding Harrison Ford? Even with Paul in Connecticut, we are going to see what he is up to?<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen I say we found out in the middle of the year, it\u2019s not an accident that Alice goes to school at Wesleyan University and that in the end of the finale, she\u2019s going by to have dinner at Paul\u2019s house. And time passage changes a lot of things \u2014\u00a0as to where people are, where they\u2019re living and how things have progressed. So, yes, Harrison\u2019s back on the show.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre you planning this as now another three-season story, through season six? Or are you taking it season by season?<\/p>\n

\n\tWe have great partners in Apple, and I\u2019ll admit that the shows I love \u2014\u00a0 like Hacks, is doing their fifth season. I can\u2019t tell you what the right amount of years is for a show. I know that we aren\u2019t going into this season as if it\u2019s our last, because we\u2019re telling another story that needs a little space to tell it. So I\u2019ll probably do this year and then ask our partners, \u201cDo you want to end it year five, or you want to end it at year six?\u201d That\u2019s kind of our vibe.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve been thinking about this a lot with streaming because everything\u2019s evolving. I\u2019m a massive fan of The Pitt and if The Pitt, in the finale, said, \u201cSurprise! In three weeks a show is coming called The Night Shift,\u201d I would be like, \u201cFuck, yeah. Shawn Hatosy all day!\u201d Who\u2019s to say what storytelling looks like now? I would watch a show about where Michael Urie\u2019s Brian goes in his life and what he\u2019s doing, even if it wasn\u2019t with this cast of characters. I just really dig working with these performers. All the secondary characters are leads of their own show, and that\u2019s one of the reasons why the show works.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tPaul (Harrison Ford) moves to Connecticut with wife Julie (Wendie Malick) at the end of season three.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApple TV<\/p>\n

\n\tBrett Goldstein (co-creator) took an onscreen step back this season, so you have also set up this Shrinking world where characters can come in and out. Was that Louis decision precipitated by the story?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Louis thing of it all is two things. I always say, \u201cA lot of people might not like this story; as long as it feels authentic, that\u2019s a great reason to do it.\u201d Brett\u2019s character on the show was loosely based on a true story, because we do our research. Whether you could do it or not and forgive him, we started from a quote of a father who forgave the teen driver who killed his teen child. He said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t stand to watch two young lives be lost.\u201d But we knew that was a story where a tremendous amount of people would go, \u201cThere\u2019s no fucking way I would never be friends with a person who did that.\u201d So in our heads, we go, \u201cThat makes sense. We\u2019re not going to do it in perpetuity, and we\u2019re going to make sure that we hold onto one character who is like, \u2018What the fuck? Get the fuck out of here.’\u201d And that was Gaby.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo as far as Brett goes, we always knew Louis would be limited. And the secondary thing was that Brett has his own show that he\u2019s working on \u2014 Escorted at Amazon<\/a>; Brett\u2019s writing and starring in his own series, so we knew he wasn\u2019t a long-term character. And everybody\u2019s aware that he was shooting Ted Lasso, which is another show that is doing what we\u2019re talking about in a very cool way, and I say that even as a fan of Jason Sudeikis and Jack Burditt.<\/p>\n

\n\tEverybody who has seen the pictures and knows that Ted Lasso is coaching a girls team [in season four]<\/a> is like, \u201cOh, this isn\u2019t season four of Ted Lasso. This is season one of whatever new Ted Lasso is now.\u201d And that\u2019s definitely something we were looking at for Shrinking.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou have a lot of other shows you\u2019re working on, Ted Lasso included. So how does continuing Shrinking fit in for you?<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of my greatest skills sets, I think, is getting to occasionally take credit for other people\u2019s amazing work. The truth is that I\u2019m super engaged and love it, and I\u2019m lucky enough that I can work with so many people.\u00a0I like to gauge that I can run one-and-a-half shows myself or with a partner per year. The shows that I ran and worked on were three in the last two years: Shrinking, Bad Monkey and Rooster. <\/p>\n

\n\tWith Ted Lasso, I\u2019m such a massive fan of Jack and Jason. There\u2019s massive continuity. A lot of people from our company still work on it; a lot of the original writers are so great and still on it. So I\u2019m not spread too thin. When you do this long enough \u2014 like, the production designer of Rooster was the production designer of Spin City; we\u2019ve been working together for 31 years, which is insane. So if you have that kind of support network of editors and DPs where you all have each other\u2019s back, you can do multiple things just because we all have a shorthand.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe way you ended Shrinking season three opens up so many possibilities of what you could do, but also who you could focus on. Do you still view Jimmy as the core focus?<\/p>\n

\n\tMy one hint would be that I don\u2019t think you can ever get away from where the show started, which is with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, who both have very distinct things we know we have to service. I want to do right by Parkinson\u2019s and by Harrison\u2019s journey, and by staying in an inspiring place \u2014 for what that means because of how personal it is not only to Harrison and to [Michael J.] Fox, but to me, because of my family and to Brett because of his family. So that will, without a doubt, go on. And Jason is the anchor and the weed of the show. I won\u2019t divulge what the new story is, but I\u2019ve already given you a hint. If we started with Jason hearing a song and getting teary and reminiscing about his wife, you would go, \u201cI thought in the last three seasons this already happened? I thought he got through this?\u201d I think people will enjoy watching.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJimmy\u2019s daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) heads off to college at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApple TV<\/p>\n

\n\tSo now Jimmy will be in a new romantic era of his life.<\/p>\n

\n\tPeople will watch what his journey is like, and what that means to rebuild a life and be who he is. I was just with the writers, because we were figuring out the arcs for the next two seasons this morning with me and Neil Goldman and Brett Goldstein, and I could tell you, but I\u2019m not allowed!<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Michael J. Fox playing a Parkinson\u2019s patient this season<\/a>, it was moving to hear him talk about being able to actually be himself while acting. Are you hoping to bring him back?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, he made the mistake of saying he enjoyed it. He\u2019ll definitely be back. All my shows are about mentorship in some way. Mike was one of my first mentors professionally in Hollywood. He was so great to me when I was a kid. I should not have been running that show [Spin City]. I was way too young, and he was respectful and awesome. So to have him back in my world, and as such an inspiring, optimistic, hopeful guy for how he\u2019s navigating this? Not only is it what I need and cherish personally, because I love to know him so much, but I find that it\u2019s so authentic that it makes a lot of the stories we\u2019re telling and that part of the show really work.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow far ahead do you think you\u2019ll jump when you return with season four? Will we see Gaby\u2019s wedding, or will we pick up with her already having like three kids?<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t want to spoil too much, but we\u2019ve always done a couple month jump from season to season, at most, because we have these continual stories. One of the funny things for us was to say that it\u2019s like Groundhog Day. If anybody took the time to look at how long the show was, the show always takes place over like three weeks or a month. So this [jump to season four] will definitely be significant and beyond a year or two.<\/p>\n

\n\tChrista Miller (Lawrence\u2019s wife who plays Liz) had such a great season as well.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe killed it, by the way. I\u2019m so proud of her. I thought the stuff when she admitted how vulnerable she was was so good. People think she\u2019s playing a version of herself, and she gets so mad because our last kid just left \u2014 we\u2019re an empty nest and I\u2019m the wuss. I\u2019m the one who is losing his mind and sad and spending way too much time with them and following my daughter around Europe. My wife was like, \u201cDeuces! I\u2019ll see you around!\u201d And she\u2019s like, \u201cYou switched it on the show!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShrinking is now streaming all three seasons on Apple TV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the season three finale of Shrinking, \u201cAnd That\u2019s Our Time.\u201d] If you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[154968,180010,146,36936,85,46,109102,54390,75074,411],"class_list":{"0":"post-381159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bill-lawrence","9":"tag-christa-miller","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-harrison-ford","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-israel","14":"tag-jason-segel","15":"tag-michael-j-fox","16":"tag-shrinking","17":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}