Finding the right additions to “Shrinking’s” cast is important for Apple TV’s hilarious positive mental health show. Wendie Malick finally checked off being the love interest of Harrison Ford after she failed her first attempt when she auditioned for “Raiders of the Lost Ark,”and former “Ted Lasso” star Brett Goldstein joined the series in Season 2after co-writing it from the beginning. As for Jason Segel, the show reunited him on-screen with Cobie Smulders for the first time since the two spent nine years working together on “How I Met Your Mother” as Marshall and Robin, respectively.
Appearing as a massive surprise on the streaming service’s hit comedy, Smulders plays Sofi, a stranger who crosses Jimmy’s (Segel) path while he’s on the lookout for a new car. Fans of the stars’ former sitcom undoubtedly got a kick out of seeing them on screen together once again, and they certainly weren’t the only ones.
“On ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ we were rarely combined, and so it felt really cool,” Segel told IndieWire regarding his and Smulder’s previous collaboration. “I think the other thing — I was actually just talking about this today — I think when I watched that scene, I feel like a weight to it that goes beyond two people meeting for the first time, which I think is what feels interesting about it, what feels electric about it. There was something really meaningful.” But while it was clear that the two worked superbly together on “Shrinking,” the question remained of whether Sofi would pop back up when the show returned for its third season.
Showrunner Bill Lawrence had high hopes for Cobie Smulders’ return in Shrinking Season 3
Following the Season 2 finale of “Shrinking,” showrunner Bill Lawrence was relatively quiet when it came to plot details for our third session with Dr. Jimmy Laird and friends, including what clearly felt like a potential love interest blossoming. Nevertheless, he still expressed immense hope that he’d get Cobie Smulders and series star Jason Segel back on screen together.
Speaking to TVLineshortly after the Season 2 finale,Lawrence confessed, “I would kill to have Cobie back in the show. We always do Easter eggs for what the next season’s about in the season before. And so, Cobie’s character is kind of a personification, a visual representation of what moving forward looks like for Jason’s character.”
Lawrence also said that he enjoyed that, while watching the two on screen together, he was focused on their characters’ interactions without even thinking about their previous work together. And, as it turns out, Lawrence’s wish for more Sofi and Jimmy came true when it was announced that Smulders would be part of “Shrinking’s” third season, along with a returning Brett Goldstein and new additions Michael J. Fox and Jeff Daniels.
