“Shrinking” co-creator Bill Lawrence explained how Michael J. Fox mistakenly ended up filming more than one episode of the hit Apple TV+ series, all because he had a bit too much fun on set.
While chatting with People magazine on Nov. 15 at the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s Gala in New York City, Lawrence opened up about the role Fox, whom he worked with on the 1996 sitcom “Spin City,” plays in “Shrinking,” and revealed that Fox wound up returning to shoot additional episodes.
“It’s not a simple, preachy role. He’s a wise-ass and as acerbic as he’s always been, and he’s kind of a really key part of the first episode, and he had so much fun and we had so much — he made the mistake,” Lawrence explained. “He did the first [episode] of the year that’s on in January, and he said, ‘That was so much fun. I’d do it again.’”
He continued: “And around me, if he ever says anything like that out loud, I’m like, ‘Oh then come back in two weeks.’”
Back in May, the series announced that Fox would be joining the series as a guest star, but details about his character have been kept under wraps. His role in “Shrinking” marks his return to acting since retiring in 2020 due to Parkinson’s disease. During an interview with Far Out Magazine last December, Lawrence credited Fox, who he referred to as his “mentor,” for influencing “Shrinking’s” Parkinson’s disease plot.
“It’s cool to get to write about things you care about now,” Lawrence told the magazine, adding that Fox was “so inspiring with the way he took it in stride.” “And Michael J Fox is my first mentor. So we wanted to represent it in hopefully an inspiring and not sad or tragic way.”
The cast of “Shrinking” Season 3 also includes previously announced additions Jeff Daniels, who will guest star as Jimmy’s father, Sherry Cola and Isabella Gomez.
“Shrinking” Season 3 premieres on Jan. 28, 2026.
