Harrison Ford Signs on for His First Major TV Role
Harrison Ford scored the first-ever ongoing television role in his career. He will star in a new comedy for Apple TV+ from Ted Lasso producers Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein. Shrinking will also star How I Met Your Mother alum, Jason Segel.
In Shrinking, Segel will star as Jimmy, a therapist who ignores his training and ethics to tell his parents exactly what he thinks about them. Jimmy's outbursts lead his patients to make major changes in their lives while trying to fix his own life. Apple TV+ picked up the series in October 2021.
Ford will star as Jimmy's mentor, Dr. Phil Rhodes, who runs a practice with Jimmy and Gaby, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Rhodes was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which inspired him to get out of his comfort zone. He also has intrusive friends, an estranged family, and his legacy to worry about.
Incredibly, Ford has never had an ongoing television role in his 56-year career until now. During his early days in Hollywood, he made appearances on The Virginian, Ironside, The F.B.I., Love American Style, Gunsmoke, and a few others before George Lucas cast him in his breakout role in American Graffiti (1973). Since 1974, the only time Ford appeared on television was as Indiana Jones in a 1993 episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
Ford recently finished work on Indiana Jones 5, which is set to finally open on June 30, 2023. The movie was directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line) and also stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen. It is the first Indiana Jones movie not directed by Steven Spielberg, who serves as a producer on the project. In 2020, Ford starred in 20th Century Studios' The Call of The Wild.
Warner Bros. Television is the studio behind Shrinked. Lawrence, Segel, and Goldstein are writing the series. Neil Goldman is executive producing alongside Doozer Productions' Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer.
Lawrence is best known for creating Scrubs and Cougar Town. He also co-created Ted Lasso with Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, and star Jason Sudeikis. The show's first season won Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor for Sudeikis, Outstanding Supporting Actor for Goldstein, and Outstanding Supporting Actress for Hannah Waddingham. A third season is now in development. Lawrence's next Apple TV+ project is Bad Monkey, starring Vince Vaughn and Michelle Monaghan.