Is Shrinking a true story?

The Apple show’s creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com.

By James Hibbs

Published: Friday, 27 January 2023 at 12:00 am

New Apple TV+ comedy series Shrinking tells the story of a therapist, Jimmy (Jason Segel), who is grieving his wife who recently passed, when he decides to switch-up his strategy at work and tell his patients what he really thinks.

The show has been co-created by Segel alongside Scrubs and Ted Lasso creator Bill Lawrence, and Ted Lasso writer and star Brett Goldstein.

But is the show based on a true story? Ahead of the series debuting, Lawrence and Goldstein spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com to explain where the idea for Shrinking came from.

Read on for everything you need to know about the real-life inspirations behind Shrinking on Apple TV+.

Is Shrinking a true story?

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Jason Segel and Luke Tennie in Shrinking.
Apple TV+

Shrinking is not a direct dramatisation of a true story, but its creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein did take inspiration from their own lives and experiences, with Lawrence particularly drawing on a tragic real-life story of someone he knew.

Speaking with RadioTimes.com, Lawrence explained that “there’s a specific real person it was based on that I know who lost a spouse and a child, and then one kid was still alive”.

Lawrence continued: “He checked out. He was just too sad and debilitated for about a year and a half. He’s great now, he’s remarried, he actually has another kid with his wife.

“So it was a personal story that we were tracking with that journey, because I find it so impressive that this person, when you see them now, has recaptured the joy and spirit that I first-hand witnessed before it happened.”

What are the other real-life inspirations for Shrinking?

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Harrison Ford in Shrinking.
Apple TV+

As well as Jimmy’s plot strand, Shrinking also focuses on other characters’ struggles, including those of Harrison Ford’s Paul, who in the show has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

As it turns out, both this and other elements of the series have their basis in the real lives of co-creators Lawrence and Goldstein, who explained that the show comes from a merging of two foundational ideas.

Speaking exclusively with RadioTimes.com, Goldstein explained: “I was working on a show, I had an idea which was a version of this show but it was much, much darker. This was years ago and Bill and I wanted to work together. And he said, ‘What do you have?’, and I told him this idea.

“And he was like, ‘I’ve been working on a very similar thing’ and he showed me his idea, and it was like a version of my idea but much, much lighter. And then we were like, ‘maybe the best version of the show is together, kind of the middle ground a bit’.”

Meanwhile, Lawrence added that this conversation happened when they were talking at a pub, explaining that he and Goldstein have known each other “as buddies and writers long before Ted Lasso“.

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Harrison Ford and Jason Segel in Shrinking.
Apple TV+

He explained: “I was working on a therapist show and a show about dealing with grief comedically because one of my favourite things to do is write about normally dramatic topics with comedy.

“And Brett was similarly, because he was going through some s**t in his real life. His dad lines up with the show, his dad has Parkinson’s, and he was looking to write a show that comedically dealt with grief, that we laugh at this s**t because it’s a great way to get through it. We kind of combined forces and we were casual about it, we didn’t know if it would happen.

“And then Jason Segel’s an old friend, he was like, ‘man, I’m looking to do comedy again but it’s got to be something that’s funny but also something with emotional weight’. So it just all fell into place.”

Lawrence also spoke about how the landscape for comedy series has changed, explaining that when he started his career “it was so hard to pitch”.

He continued: “You’d go in and be like, ‘Hey, it’s a show about death and doctors and whatever but it’s a silly comedy’ and everybody’s like, ‘No!’ And now, because of the world everybody’s like, ‘Could it be sadder?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I got you’.

“I think people that know my writing, I hope they know that I like to write comedy with some emotional depth beneath it, and hopefully with some universal themes. And for me, this show… everybody I know right now is at least tangentially going through some kind of grief. The pandemic was rough, the world is not an easy place.

“Brett and I connected over our fathers both being too young and vibrant to be seriously ill. His father has Parkinson’s, it’s in the show. My father has Lewy bodies dementia and he’s only 75, it’s a drag.

“And smiling our way through these things and maybe putting them out there creatively, not only as entertainment but you’re part of a community and everybody’s going through s**t – that’s the world I like living in as a writer.

“I really like silly stuff, too. And I know I might have to take a break after this one and write something very silly and fun with no emotional stakes. But we’ll see.”