Is 'Shrinking' Based on a True Story?

Shrinking is not strictly a true story but the Apple TV+ series is inspired by real people and events. The show was created by Jason Segel alongside Ted Lasso writers Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, and stars Segel as Jimmy with Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford among the cast.

Lawrence and Goldstein drew on personal life for the series. Lawrence cited his father’s struggles with Lewy body dementia and a broader sense of grief around the pandemic, while Goldstein’s father’s Parkinson’s diagnosis influenced the character Paul. The character Jimmy is based on a specific person Lawrence knew who lost a spouse and a child, became deeply depressed for about a year and a half, and later remarried and recovered his joy.

That real-life arc helped shape Jimmy’s story of grief and recovery.

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