Jessica Williams Talks ‘Shrinking’ Season 3 And Praising Harrison Ford

For three seasons now, actress Jessica Williams has charmed audiences with her witty and fun-loving performance as Gaby on Shrinking. Centered around a group of therapists and their friends, as they strive to deal with the highs-and-lows of their own lives, the Apple TV series continues to provide viewers with all of the emotions, while reminding us to believe in their very best of humanity, even during the darkest of times.

Co-starring Jason Segal, Christa Miller, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Luke Tennie and Harrison Ford, Shrinking returns for a third season premiering on January 28, as Williams’ Gaby character navigates a growing romance (opposite the actor Damon Wayans Jr.), family commitments, solid friendships and evolving interests around her professional ambitions.

Sitting down with Williams, whose previous work includes Booksmart, Love Life and The Daily Show, I wondered what she is enjoying most about Gaby’s journey thus far on Shrinking and what keeps her intrigued to want to continue playing this television character for the screen.

Williams said, “Gosh! When I signed on for the first two episodes, that was the only thing written and there’s not a lot of Gaby in those two episodes, but I was banking on Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein and Jason Segel, who created the show. I like all those dudes.”

The actress went on to say that she is a big fan of Lawrence’s previous television hit Scrubs, so getting to work alongside him now on Shrinking feels “full circle. It’s funny how life works like that when you let it.”

Being three seasons into this Shrinking story, with Williams having already received two Emmy nominations for her acting performance as Gaby, what is it about this production, with its ensemble cast and crew, that Williams will lead with as an actor moving forward, even beyond her work on the Apple TV series?

“I think Harrison Ford has really inspired me,” Williams said. “I’m watching him in his eighties do some of the best work of his career, in my opinion. He’s incredible in this show.”

I playfully interjected, saying to Williams that I did not know that Ford is a comedy actor until I saw his outstanding performance as Paul on Shrinking, which she quickly responded by saying, “I did. Well, to me, Indiana Jones works because he’s funny. Han Solo works because he’s funny. It’s always been there. We’re laughing at those guys when we’re looking at them, but we don’t realize it. But with [Harrison], especially this season, somehow he has outdone himself from the last two seasons in a way that I didn’t even know was possible because he’s been so amazing the last two seasons – but in this season, he is unbelievable. He’s funny, he’s heartbreaking, he’s silly, he’s mean. It’s like all the good things that you want in your grumpy main character.”

In season three, Ford continues to lead with an emotional storyline around his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis and the gradual ways that his health and his overall quality of life continue to decline.

Williams added about Harrison’s ongoing Shrinking performance as Paul: “He’s grieving. Oh my god, and he works the sh** out of that Parkinson’s. He’s got to check on his symptoms and how he’s going to play it and how he’s going to play it respectfully.”

Joining the cast this season is longtime actor and a leading voice against Parkinson’s, Michael J. Fox, who is living with the disease and continues to raise funds for research through his The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

While speaking about the Shrinking season three scenes between Ford and Fox, Williams said, “I would stay when they were shooting together, like after I was wrapped, because it was unbelievable. Michael J. Fox and Bill Lawrence have this incredible history with each other [on the show Spin City]. It’s one of those full circle things. Basically, what I took away was even well into my eighties, I can still be falling in love with acting and still just doing great work. So, that’s what I took away, I think, this season.”

Concluding my conversation with Williams, I left the Shrinking star with my signature interview question, wondering what she would say to her character Gaby, after embodying her on-screen over these three seasons so far, if only she could.

Williams said, “Can I tell you? I think about this all the time. I need to tell her that in another universe, there is a franchise called Star Wars and her boss is one of the biggest movie stars in the whole world, and he is in it. There’s also one called Indiana Jones. Gaby would be like – What? You’re crazy! I think about it all the time – like I want to tell her.”