Awards Circuit Podcast: ‘Shrinking’ stars talk to us about their characters, working with Harrison Ford and Jason Segel and more
When developing his on-screen friendship with co-star Krista Miller, “Shrink” star Jessica Williams said she positioned it as if the two were hanging out “like ‘The Real Housewives of Pasadena.'”
In other words, she approached the relationship between her character, Gabby, and Miller’s character, Liz, through the lens of her fascination with reality television and obsession with the Real Housewives franchise. In this episode of Diversity‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, Williams and Miller share how this TV friendship has evolved in real life off-screen as well.
In separate interviews, Williams and Miller discussed the dynamic of their characters’ evolving personalities and what they hope for the second season. Listen below!
“Shrink” focuses on therapist Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) and his daughter Alice (Lucita Maxwell), following the loss of their matriarch Tia (Lylan Bowden). The half-hour comedy chronicles how the therapist develops a much more hands-on approach with his clientele and begins to process his grief with Alice.
As Jimmy and Alice grieve, the two are embraced by close family friends Liz (Christa Miller) and Gabby (Jessica Williams). While Jimmy neglects his daughter during the mourning period, Liz becomes a domineering mother figure to Alice and guides her through her grief while bringing a new dimension to the nosy neighbor archetype. And then there’s Harrison Ford, who plays Jimmy’s mentor, Paul, an aging therapist who’s not yet ready to come to terms with his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
As Liz attends to Alice’s needs, she begins to run afoul of those who also support the Lairds—including Tia’s best friend, Jimmy’s colleague, and Alice’s godmother, Gabby. Williams’ Gabby becomes Alice’s expressive and understanding friend while developing a deeper bond with Jimmy. Struggling with her own grief, Gabby develops an unexpected friendship with Harrison Ford’s Paul and eventually an unexpected friendship with Liz.
As a product of her personal relationship with series co-creator and real-life husband Bill Lawrence, Miller noted how her quirks also filtered into the creation of Liz—explaining how the character’s unique obsession with cleaning rocks came from her own personal fixation. In addition to playing Liz, Miller also served as the series’ music supervisor with Tony Von Pervio. During the podcast, Miller detailed what it was like preparing the music for the series, revealing that he “put all the music in on the first edit” and mainly used the new music as a nod to the characters’ ages and lifestyles.
In addition to working on the music for Shrinking, Miller also worked on the music for Lawrence’s Ted Lasso, Scrubs, and Cougar Town. Although Miller and Lawrence’s professional and personal partnerships only began in 2002 and 1998, Miller appeared on several series in the 1990s, including “Seinfeld,” “Party of Five” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ‘, which led her to join ‘The Drew Carey Show’.
After spending seven years on The Drew Carey Show, Miller joins Lawrence for his animated satire Clone High and will soon become a recurring character on Scrubs. As “Scrubs” concluded, she and Lawrence co-starred on “Cougar Town,” and after the series ended, Miller appeared in the feature films “Hot Air” and “Breaking In.” Miller recently reprized his role in Max’s Clone High reboot.
Meanwhile, Williams said Gabby is “right in [her] wheelhouse,” because of the character’s ability to “spin really hard and do comedy and then be quite dramatic.” Additionally, Williams acknowledged how she worked to transform the stereotype of a black female therapist and was encouraged to improvise and incorporate black American vernacular into Gabby’s dialogue.
Williams has been in the comedy scene for almost two decades. Making her first appearance in “Just for Kicks” at age 17, Williams has appeared in several television movies, shorts, web series, as well as popular comedy films and television shows, including “Girls” and “Hot Tub Time Machine 2 “.
While she simultaneously guest-starred on “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” and appeared as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” the comedian hosted the “2 Dope Queens” podcast with Phoebe Robinson. After the podcast ended in 2018, Williams continued her comedy career, taking on more series and scripted films, including ‘Booksmart’, ‘Love Life’ and now ‘Shrinking’.
Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, is your one-stop shop for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week, the “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and television talent and creators; discussions and debates about award competitions and industry titles; and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you download podcasts. New episodes are posted every week.