Michael J. Fox is making his Shrinking debut in season 3, years after stepping away from acting as he battled Parkinson’s disease.
The trailer — which was released on Tuesday, December 30 — sees Fox, 64, sitting beside Dr. Paul Rhoades (Harrison Ford) in the waiting room of a medical center.
“What are you in for?” Fox’s character asks Paul, who replies, “Parkinson’s. You?” Fox quips, “Just a haircut,” and the pair share a laugh.
The trailer also teases a reunion between Jimmy (Jason Segel) and his season 2 love interest, Sofi (Cobie Smulders) — who is also his real-life former How I Met Your Mother costar. Jimmy also appears to be navigating the emotions of his daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell), preparing to leave for college.
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Through it all, senior therapist Paul continues to impart his sage advice. “You just have to suck the marrow out of this amazing life,” he says at one point in the trailer.
Shrinking season 3 will also feature returning stars Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie and Ted McGinley. Damon Wayans Jr., cocreator Brett Goldstein and Wendie Malick will also continue appearing as guest stars. Jeff Daniels is also joining.
News broke of Fox’s Shrinking season 3 casting in May. While remaining tight-lipped about his character’s involvement in Shrinking season 3, Fox confirmed in October that he’ll be playing someone with Parkinson’s.
“It was the first time ever I [got] to show up on set and I didn’t have to worry about am I too tired or coughing or anything,” he told People at the time. “I just do it.”
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Ahead of Fox’s casting announcement, cocreator Bill Lawrence had been candid about the actor helping shape Ford’s character. (Fox and Lawrence previously worked together on Spin City, which was airing when Fox announced his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1998.)
“It’s cool to get to write about things you care about now,” Lawrence told People in December 2024. “And Michael J. Fox is my first mentor. So we wanted to represent it in hopefully an inspiring and not sad or tragic way.”
Lawrence explained that he became “obsessed with showing the portrait of living with it” in Shrinking season 3.
“I found the first mentor in my life and career, Michael J. Fox, to be so inspiring with the way he took it in stride and continues to work harder than anybody I know,” he said. “And we want to kind of carry that spirit if we can into the show.”
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Ford, meanwhile, shared that same month that he takes his storyline — where his character battles Parkinson’s disease — “deadly f***ing seriously.”
“There are people that absorb these kinds of experiences with grace and courage and a little bit of wisdom,” Ford told People at the time. “It’s just to say that this is a person particularly equipped to communicate what it’s like, and that is something that I feel that is worth sharing with our audience.”
Ford explained that he feels like he’s “telling a story,” adding, “The story I’m telling is a story that I know, and so I can just simply feel it.”
Shrinking season 3 premieres January 28 on AppleTV. Seasons 1-2 are currently streaming.
