‘Shrinking’ Star Jessica Williams Felt ‘Really Stressed’ About Reprising Gaby Role in Season 2
While the making of Shrinking Season 2 was certainly “fun” for Jessica Williams, or Gaby to fans, the actor felt “really stressed” as production on the Apple TV+ original series returned. Ahead, what made Williams “really nervous” as she reprised her role in the comedy-drama and how she overcame her nerves.
Williams worried about her ‘Shrinking’ performance being a ‘fluke’
Williams, who received an Emmy nod for her portrayal of Gaby in Shrinking Season 1, admitted to Deadline how “stressed” she felt as production on season 2 got underway. (The season premiered on Oct. 15, 2024.) About what exactly? Giving yet another award-nominating turn as the therapist who drinks from a massive water bottle and wears colorful outfits.
“We did the Emmys in January [2024] and because there was so much time, I didn’t know if I remembered Gaby,” Williams said. “We were gonna film literally in a few weeks after the strike started, we were supposed to film.”
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes started in July 2023, ending nearly four months later to the day. Williams and her co-star, Jason Segal, who also co-created Shrinking, were both nominated for Emmys.
“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 [things]—it’s my loop of like perfection and expectations—on myself,” she added.
She remembered the ‘freedom’ of playing Gaby when filming on season 2 started
It didn’t take long for Williams’ nerves to go away. She quickly realized why playing Gaby “works” for her when she returned to the Shrinking set.
“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**k around and find out with the comedy,’” she said.
“There’s freedom there,” she added. “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,” she added, “but I was really nervous.”
What ‘bummed’ Williams out about ‘Shrinking’ Season 2
The Emmy nominee continued, sharing how disappointed she’d been when a potential singing-in-the-car moment with Paul (Harrison Ford) got cut short after her and Ford’s characters sang along to Sugar Ray’s “Every Morning” in Shrinking Season 1.
“I actually didn’t write that,” Williams said of the musical moment Gaby cut short during her and Paul’s drive to work in the season 2 premiere. “You could tell [Shrinking co-creator] Bill Lawrence if you talk to him. Tell him I was bummed as well. I was really bummed about that.”
Williams hinted at other “fun” moments with Ford in season 2. Calling them “all fun,” she shared her “favorite scene” involves Wendie Malick as Paul’s girlfriend Julie.
“Gaby has this obsession with Julie and Paul and would probably love to be in a throuple with them,” the actor said of her character. “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.”
A new episode of Shrinking Season 2 drops every Wednesday on Apple TV+ where fans can also stream season 1.
