‘Shrinking’s Jessica Williams On “Stress” Of Reprising Gaby In Season 2 & The Harrison Ford Scene That “Really Bummed” Her Out
Although Jessica Williams had some imposter syndrome about returning for Season 2 of Shrinking, she quickly found her groove again.
Following her first Emmy nomination for playing therapist Gaby in Season 1, the actress admits to Deadline that she was “stressed” about returning to work on the Apple TV+ comedy drama after the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, fearing her previous success in the role was just “a fluke.”
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“The day of the Emmy nom, we went on strike at midnight that night,” she recalled. “So it was kind of interesting to be so excited and to be able to post about it and then go on strike for about four or five — I don’t even know how long it was because it was dark. It was dark but you know, I was picketing. So it felt like it happened but then didn’t happen because in the strike, for a while, there was no end in sight. So, I got to kind of sit with it for a while and then I kind of forgot about it.”
Williams continued, “And then we did the Emmys in January and because there was so much time, I didn’t know if I remembered Gaby. We were gonna film literally in a few weeks after the strike started, we were supposed to film. And so, I was really stressed for Season 2, being like, ‘Do I remember her? Can I do it? Will I be able to hit the notes? Was it a fluke? Like I got nominated for this Emmy. Can I do it again? I put all these unfair — it’s my loop of like perfection and expectations on myself. And so it was so nice to be able to walk on set and be like, ‘Oh, the reason why this character works for me is because I have the ability to like kind of f— around and find out with the comedy.’ There’s freedom there. And so it felt good to remember that and to have this character that I actually knew her bones really well. So I got to have a lot of fun, but I was really nervous.”
Created by Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein, Shrinking follows grieving therapist Jimmy (Segel), who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives including his own.
After Jimmy hooked up with his longtime friend and fellow therapist Gaby in Season 1, the pair continue their messy dynamic at the beginning of Season 2, which Williams said “was really fun” to build with Segel.
“Before I signed on for the show, they always vaguely knew that Gaby and Jimmy were going to have some sort of messy hookup and situation,” she explained. “And so that was really fun because they hired me based on my personality and the chemistry that I already had with Jason. So, that was always happening. And I love working with him. He’s like one of my favorite actors to work with ever.”
Season 2 also introduces a new love interest for Gaby, whom Williams “can’t wait” for fans to see. “They are two peas in a pod. It’s really sweet stuff,” she teased.
Noting that Harrison Ford‘s character Dr. Paul Rhoades serves as a “surrogate father figure” for Gaby and Jimmy, Williams saw “some of the most phenomenal acting” ever from the Oscar nominee this season, which concludes on a “really emotional” note.
And although Gaby and Paul shared an adorable carpool karaoke moment to Sugar Ray’s ‘Every Morning’ in Season 1, Williams admitted she was “bummed” her character cut short another musical moment in the Season 2 premiere.
“I actually didn’t write that,” she noted. “You could tell Bill Lawrence if you talk to him. Tell him I was bummed as well. I was really bummed about that.”
Fortunately, she teased plenty more “fun” moments to come with Ford this season.
“Oh yeah, they’re all fun. My favorite scene is when Harrison and Wendie Malick are doing a scene together — Wendie Malick plays Julie and Gabby has this obsession with Julie and Paul and would probably love to be in a throuple with them. If they ask, she would just love it. But that’s my favorite stuff to do with Harrison. It just kind of writes itself. Oh, it’s great.”
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