{"id":29273,"date":"2023-01-27T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T10:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1772791"},"modified":"2023-01-27T14:03:07","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T13:03:07","slug":"is-shrinking-a-true-story","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/is-shrinking-a-true-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Shrinking a true story?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Apple show’s creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com. <\/p>

By James Hibbs\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 27 January 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

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.<\/p>\n

The show has been co-created by Segel alongside Scrubs and Ted Lasso<\/a> creator Bill Lawrence, and Ted Lasso writer and star Brett Goldstein.<\/p>\n

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

Read on for everything you need to know about the real-life inspirations behind Shrinking on Apple TV+<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Is Shrinking a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Jason Segel and Luke Tennie in Shrinking.<\/span><\/figcaption> Apple TV+<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Speaking with RadioTimes.com<\/strong>, Lawrence explained that \u201cthere\u2019s 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\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lawrence continued: \u201cHe checked out. He was just too sad and debilitated for about a year and a half. He\u2019s great now, he\u2019s remarried, he actually has another kid with his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are the other real-life inspirations for Shrinking?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Harrison Ford in Shrinking.<\/span><\/figcaption> Apple TV+<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

As well as Jimmy\u2019s plot strand, Shrinking also focuses on other characters\u2019 struggles, including those of Harrison Ford\u2019s Paul, who in the show has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Speaking exclusively with RadioTimes.com<\/strong>, Goldstein explained: \u201cI 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, \u2018What do you have?\u2019, and I told him this idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he was like, \u2018I\u2019ve been working on a very similar thing\u2019 and he showed me his idea, and it was like a version of my idea but much, much lighter. And then we were like, \u2018maybe the best version of the show is together, kind of the middle ground a bit\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lawrence added that this conversation happened when they were talking at a pub, explaining that he and Goldstein have known each other \u201cas buddies and writers long before Ted Lasso<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n

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Harrison Ford and Jason Segel in Shrinking.<\/span><\/figcaption> Apple TV+<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

He explained: \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd 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\u2019s, and he was looking to write a show that comedically dealt with grief, that we laugh at this s**t because it\u2019s a great way to get through it. We kind of combined forces and we were casual about it, we didn\u2019t know if it would happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then Jason Segel\u2019s an old friend, he was like, \u2018man, I\u2019m looking to do comedy again but it\u2019s got to be something that\u2019s funny but also something with emotional weight\u2019. So it just all fell into place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawrence also spoke about how the landscape for comedy series has changed, explaining that when he started his career \u201cit was so hard to pitch\u201d.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cYou\u2019d go in and be like, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s a show about death and doctors and whatever but it\u2019s a silly comedy\u2019 and everybody\u2019s like, \u2018No!\u2019 And now, because of the world everybody\u2019s like, \u2018Could it be sadder?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, I got you\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2026 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.<\/p>

\u201cBrett and I connected over our fathers both being too young and vibrant to be seriously ill. His father has Parkinson\u2019s, it\u2019s in the show. My father has Lewy bodies dementia and he\u2019s only 75, it\u2019s a drag.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd smiling our way through these things and maybe putting them out there creatively, not only as entertainment but you\u2019re part of a community and everybody\u2019s going through s**t \u2013 that\u2019s the world I like living in as a writer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>