“Small Stars Reveal Their Dream Guest Stars for Season 3”

Shrinking Season 2 is almost over, but the team is already looking ahead to Season 3 and considering possible new cast members who could join in the adventures in Pasadena.

In just two seasons, the Jason Segel and Harrison Ford-led Apple TV+ comedy has become a hit thanks to its humor, heart, and indomitable ensemble. More recently, fans have taken a particular interest in the onslaught of guest stars who swing by the set to share in the laughs with Christa Miller, Lukita Maxwell, Jessica Williams, and the rest of the cast. Thus far, Season 2 has featured appearances from actors known to fans of co-creator Bill Lawrence, whose work spans decades, genres, networks, and streaming platforms.

Apart from Scrubs star Neil Flynn recurring in Season 2, the Emmy and Golden Globes-nominated series welcomed Cougar Town alum Josh Hopkins, Bad Monkey actresses Meredith Hagner and Ashley Nicole Black, and, of course, Ted Lasso lead and Shrinking co-creator Brett Goldstein. An added bonus came in the form of a How I Met Your Mother reunion between Segel and Cobie Smulders, who appeared in Episode 10 and may return for Season 3 if Lawrence’s teases are to be believed.

For Lawrence, though, there’s still room to welcome one actor to make a surprise appearance in Season 3 and beyond. In fact, they’ll even write something just for him.

“Every one of my shows has a lifetime invite for Michael J. Fox. He’s my mentor, and he’s one of the kindest guys in the world. I find him so inspiring,” Lawrence told Decider at a recent Paley Center event in Los Angeles.

The pair first worked together on Spin City, the six-season ABC sitcom about the deputy mayor of New York (Fox) and the team around him who constantly work to save the mayor (Barry Bostwick) from embarrassment and ruin. The series also starred Heather Locklear, Connie Britton, Richard Kind, Michael Boatman, and Alan Ruck as fellow employees working with Fox’s character at city hall. Fox left the show after four seasons due partially to the effects of his Parkinson’s disease and has only acted in a handful of projects post-diagnosis. Worthy of note, however, that Fox questioned his retirement earlier this year, saying “I would do acting if something came up that I could put my realities into it, my challenges, if I could figure it out.”

Regardless of if he follows through with that, Lawrence told Decider that he would drop everything and write something for Fox if he wanted to take part.

“He’s the only one out there that has an open door policy that he gets to tell us if and when he ever feels like doing something again,” the comedy writer and producer shared. Lawrence has previously shared that he and the producers took inspiration from Fox in writing Shrinking, particularly the battle Ford’s character has with the debilitating disease.

Even if Fox never picks up the phone, Lawrence said he is just happy to be able to work with other actors and actresses from his previous projects and is always for opportunities to slot people in. “It’s so fun for me to bring those people back into my world,” he said.

As for others who the Shrinking cast wants to bring into the fold, it’s a variable mixed bag ranging from royal family members (jokingly) to seriously possible former co-stars.

“Mark Hamill, Prince Harry, Cobie Smulders again,” quipped Ted McGinley, the actor behind the fan-favorite character of D-Man, a.k.a. Derek, a.k.a. Liz’s (Miller) husband. “Whatever they [the producers] come up with is way beyond my imagination.”

As mentioned above, the third option could actually happen and the first name could also come through if Ford would be willing to make a call. No luck on Prince Harry. At least not yet.

And speaking of former co-stars, Michael Urie says there’s one person from his past who is dying to work with him again. According to the actor, Judith Light — who previously starred alongside him on Ugly Betty — is more than game to step in as a familial figure to his Shrinking character. Urie plays Brian, the longtime best friend of Jimmy (Segel).

“You know who wants to play my mom? I’m going to throw it out there: Judith Light,” said Urie. “She’s wanted to play my mom for years.”

In that series, Urie played Marc St. James, the assistant to Mode Magazine creative director Wilhemina Slater (Vanessa Williams). Light played the magazine’s owner, Claire Meade. That series ran on ABC for four seasons and also starred America Ferrara, Eric Mabius, Tony Plana, Ana Ortiz, Becki Newman, and Mark Indelicato.

For Maxwell, who plays Alice, the daughter of Segel’s character in the show, it would be all about an incredible (but completely improbable) crossover with another Apple TV+ hit, Slow Horses. That series sees stars Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden as British intelligence agents.

“I love Slow Horses. How do the Slow Horses characters — how does MI-6 get into Shrinking?” she said. “That doesn’t make any fucking sense but that’s where my brain went.”

We’ll leave it to Lawrence, Goldstein, and Segel to figure that one out. No matter who they surprise us with, we will be seated come Season 3.

The first 11 episodes of Shrinking Season 2 and all of Shrinking Season 1 is now streaming on Apple TV+. The Season 2 finale airs on Wednesday, December 25.