After an emotional and dependably hilarious third season, Shrinking has concluded its latest run with a poignant ending that, to a lot of viewers, felt like a series finale. Well, don't worry. Before the third season premiered, Apple TV made that announcement that Shrinking season 4 is happening.
In the Shrinking season 3 finale, and here's where spoilers come into play so beware, all of the main characters made decisions that pulled them away from Jimmy. Obviously, Alice headed off to college in Connecticut, where Paul also moved in the wake of his fight with Jimmy. Liz and Derek were off on vacation to Barcelona, later to be joined by Gaby and Derrick after their engagement, and Brian and Charlie were off to Tennessee. Sean also moved into his own place.
Naturally, the series came to a place that felt like a natural ending point with all of the characters beginning new chapters of their lives. Even Jimmy decided to take a leap of faith and open himself up to trying something new with Sofi. But Shrinking season 4 is in the works and on the way, and showrunner Bill Lawrence already shared three exciting teases!
Harrison Ford (and the whole cast) will be back
If the season 3 finale had you concerned that Harrison Ford and more of the series regulars would be leaving the show, Lawrence made sure to nip any worries in the bud. As he plainly confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter, "The entire ensemble is returning." And yes, that includes Harrison Ford.
Lawrence also doubled down on Ford reprising his role in Shrinking season 4 in a series regular capacity, telling Deadline, "I would be insane not to find a way for Harrison Ford to be in the show in perpetuity. He is not disappearing. [...] He’s not leaving."
The show's boss didn't elaborate on how the fourth season will navigate Paul living in Connecticut, or if he will even still be living on the East Coast. Lawrence assured that season 4 will be telling a new story and picking back up with all the characters in a way that allows for big changes.
There will be a one or two-year time jump
For the first time in the show's run, there will be a significant time jump that places the characters in a new period of their lives. We won't be picking back up with them in real time, but we're also not going to be erasing a significant portion of their lives. But Lawrence confirmed a multi-year time jump.
"I don’t want to spoil too much, but we’ve always done a couple month jump from season to season, at most, because we have these continual stories. One of the funny things for us was to say that it’s like Groundhog Day. If anybody took the time to look at how long the show was, the show always takes place over like three weeks or a month. So this [jump to season 4] will definitely be significant and beyond a year or two," he explained to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lawrence mused that jumping ahead a couple years allows time for the dust to have settled in Paul's move to Connecticut to be closer to his family and explore whether that worked for him. Shrinking season 4 will also further navigate the status of Jimmy's relationship with Sofi, Gaby and Derrick's wedding, Liz and Derek's life as grandparents, Alice's college experience, and Brian and Charlie's family, too. The time jump is big enough, but still small enough, to provide a great story.
Jimmy starts a new journey after overcoming his grief
The reason that the Shrinking season 3 finale felt like a series finale is because Lawrence and the writing team designed it that way. This finale concluded a three-season arc that was originally pitched to Apple TV and could have been the end. But the streamer, the cast, and the crew all wanted to return. Lawrence revealed these three seasons told a complete story, and a new one is in the works.
"The first year of Shrinking is about grief and the second year is about forgiveness, and the third year is about moving forward through it," Lawrence explained.
Now that Jimmy has overcome his grief, not to say that he's completely moved past Tia's passing, he's brave enough to be on the other side and begin a new chapter. Lawrence didn't confirm whether Cobie Smulders would be back as Sofi. Smulders will be a series regular in The Lincoln Lawyer season 5 on Netflix, which is now in production, and could potentially interfere if filming dates overlap.
Hopefully, even with the time jump, we will still catch up with Sofi whether she and Jimmy are actually together or not. But we do know that, according to Lawrence, Shrinking season 4 (and potentially season 5 and beyond) focuses on a new story for Jimmy and all of its characters. Hopefully, filming will begin before the end of the year and season 4 will premiere sometime in 2027.