Jimmy’s life may just have got a lot more complicated after the end of season 1…
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Shrinking season 1.
The first season of Shrinking appeared to be drawing to a happy, light-hearted close, when all of a sudden a spanner was thrown into the works with a massive, sinister cliffhanger.
Ever since the series, which follows Jason Segel’s Jimmy, a therapist struggling with grief who started to tell his patients exactly what to do, dropped its final episode, fans have been clamouring to know when we might pick up again with these characters.
Alongside Segel, the series also stars Harrison Ford and it has been created by Segel, Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein for Apple TV+. But will there be a second season and if so, when is it likely to start releasing new episodes?
Read on for everything you need to know about Shrinking season 2.
Will there be a second season of Shrinking?
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There will! Shrinking was officially renewed for a second season on Thursday 9th March 2023, with Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV+ saying: “We have loved the engaging, touching and hilarious world of Shrinking since the beginning, and it has been wonderful to watch as audiences around the world continue to connect with these big-hearted characters.
“We can’t wait for viewers to experience what the cast and creative team have for season 2.”
Previously, Jason Segel told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that it was “the hope and goal” to make more episodes of the show, adding: “One of the things Bill [Lawrence, co-creator] said to me when I signed on was ‘We’ll do this for as long as we’re having fun’, which sounds like a great way to go into a project.”
Meanwhile, speaking in December 2022, Lawrence told RadioTimes.com that the writing staff were about to start work on a potential second season that week.
He said: “We’re grinding on it as we speak. We know where this year and next year start and end. And so I think the end of this year people will both feel a sense of completion but also know without a shadow of a doubt that the show’s not over.
“The finale has a big stick in the spokes, you know, a surprise type thing in the finale of this season. And beyond those two years, that’s the fun – if we’re lucky enough to keep doing it, if everybody’s into it, and if Harrison is not flying his jet to some remote corner of the world at that point in time we’ll keep doing it forever, it’s a lot of fun.”
However, in an interview with Variety more recently, Lawrence seemed to suggest a more finite timeline for the series.
He said: “Part of the fun for me in doing shows with, like, Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, is that you can tell actors that you’ve always wanted to work with, ‘If you give me three seasons, that’s fine if you want to split.’ So all I can tell you is that all the gang that we roped in for this one was down for doing that.
“The second year is about forgiveness, and the third year is about moving forward.”
When will Shrinking season 2 be released?
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It’s not certain yet just when we can expect more episodes of Shrinking, but given that Bill Lawrence confirmed the writing staff had started on the season in 2022, and the official renewal came before the end of the first season’s run, we’d hope that it could be a fairly quick turn-around.
Depending on the filming schedules for the cast and crew, there is a chance that the new season could be turned around in about a year, meaning season 2 would arrive in early 2024 – however, that’s not yet certain.
The quite literal cliffhanger to the first season’s finale saw Heidi Gardner’s Grace, who has been in therapy with Jimmy, push her abusive boyfriend off a cliff while on a hike, meaning there’s likely to be a sizable fallout to deal with in season 2 when it does arrive.
We’ll keep this page updated as and when we get any more information.
Shrinking cast: who will be back for season 2?
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Based on Lawrence’s comments that the cast, including Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, agreed to do a three season arc on the show, that would certainly suggest the majority of the cast, including those two stars, will be back.
Alongside them, other stars likely to return include Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie and of course, after that cliffhanger, Heidi Gardner. Plus, there’s also a chance we could meet some major new characters – with one particular star in the running for a role.
One of the show’s co-creators, writer and actor Brett Goldstein, was unable to appear in Shrinking as he was filming the third season of Ted Lasso during the shoot. However, with that series potentially coming to a close, there’s a chance Goldstein could be available – and Segel and Lawrence both want him in the show.
Lawrence told RadioTimes.com to “ask Brett to do a character next year” on the show, while Segel said: “He’s busy doing Lasso but my dream would be that he comes through as one of the characters, a patient or something like that, because I would love to act with Brett.”
A potential role for Goldstein aside, here’s a list of the main cast we would expect to return for a second season of Shrinking:
- Jason Segel as Jimmy
- Harrison Ford as Paul
- Jessica Williams as Gaby
- Lukita Maxwell as Alice
- Luke Tennie as Sean
- Michael Urie as Brian
- Christa Miller as Liz
- Ted McGinley as Derek
- Heidi Gardner as Grace
- Lily Rabe as Meg
- Wendie Malick as Julie
Is there a trailer for Shrinking season 2?
There isn’t a trailer available for Shrinking season 2 just yet, but you can rewatch the trailer for season 1 right here, now.
Shrinking season 1 is available to stream in full on Apple TV+ – you can sign up to Apple TV+ here. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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