“Shrinking” is back for its third season, and the return of the Apple TV show has some feeling nostalgic.
The series follows grieving therapist Jimmy (Jason Segel) after the death of his wife. Meanwhile, his teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) navigates the loss of her mother, too. As the seasons continue, the poignant show also tackles the progression of Dr. Paul’s (Harrison Ford) Parkinson’s disease and how all the characters come together to take care of each other. (Ahead of its Jan. 27 Season 3 premiere, the Apple TV show was already renewed for a fourth season.)
Season 3 may be especially noteworthy and emotional for residents of Altadena and Pasadena, who were affected by the Eaton Fire that erupted on Jan. 7, 2025.
Nineteen people died, thousands were displaced and 9,418 homes and other buildings were destroyed when the Eaton Canyon caught on fire during 90 miles per hour winds, according to The Associated Press. At the same time, the Palisades Fire on the opposite side of town was also ablaze and destructive.
“Shrinking” is filmed in Los Angeles and highlights special landmarks in the Pasadena and Altadena communities.
Locations like Gaby’s (Jessica Williams) home in Altadena, where they shoot exterior shots, was burned down. Eaton Canyon, where the fire ignited, is also used as a hiking location for the show. Jimmy and Alice’s home, which is right next to Liz (Christa Miller) and Derek’s (Ted McGinley)’s house, is located on the cusp of Pasadena and Altadena.
Altadena staple Charles S. Farnsworth Park, where the crew is seen playing pickleball and roaming the park, was also deeply impacted when the William D. Davies Memorial Building was destroyed. A year after the fires, the park has yet to be reopened or rebuilt.
TODAY.com spoke with the stars of the Emmy-nominated show about their experience returning to the set of “Shrinking” following the devastating fire.
The below has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Jessica Williams
I always think about what Mr. Rogers said, where he’s like, “Look for the helpers in the time of disaster.” And to me, with both fires, especially being from LA, it was just devastating. To be able to go back and hire locally and be in local places, donate and give time, that was a big, big part of my personal journey when shooting the show.
I think we were supposed to start shooting the week of the fires. So we had to push and then we had to do all the interior (shots). I know the homeowners of my character’s house. It burned down. So Gaby’s house burned down — so we just shot (it on a sound stage) — which is so, so sad. There was a bit of fear of wanting to get it right and figuring out how to play the show with the fires and just choosing to kind of move forward on the show. I was really nervous about it.
There were so many starts and stops because we couldn’t shoot outside in the area, especially at Jimmy and Liz’s house with the air quality, which is in Pasadena. As someone who lives in Eagle Rock, the best part is shooting in our community and area, and it was just really sad. All the actors felt it. A few of the actors weren’t in their homes and some of the crew lost their homes. But (we were like), we got to make money. At that point, there’s only like, five projects going in LA. There’s not a lot that shoots in LA. We’re starting to get that back, but it was just sad and it was kind of just the backdrop of the whole show.
Lukita Maxwell
I live not too far and it was a very difficult time. We didn’t go back on location for a while. We were just waiting to make sure that the location was clear and safe for everybody to go to and that everybody there was safe. I remember the first drive back onto the set and — as it is with, I think, all of these areas in LA that were affected and touched by this crazy fire — the energy of the Earth changed. So there was a lot of energy on that drive. I remember feeling very grateful that I was and my loved ones were safe. It was a hard time.
Michael Urie
I was so, so sad about Altadena when we started shooting last season and so much of it was gone. So many people were displaced. And our sweet locations, we have a lot of locations in Altadena, and luckily, almost all of them were OK. Going back there was very moving for all of us because we couldn’t for a while. We had to postpone a lot of those scenes for the end of the shoot, but being back there was quite moving.
(Before “Shrinking”), I didn’t know about this neighborhood. I had slept on Altadena. It was like this magical little jewel in the Los Angeles neighborhood spectrum that had slipped past me. It is really lovely there, and I’m so glad that we got to bring some life and some money back to the community. It’s become just a beautiful location for our show. I think we’ve gotten to give a face to a name to a lot of people that might not know that community.
Ted McGinley
I lived in the Palisades, so we’re not in our house either. We moved out to Altadena, where we film, and we couldn’t go there because the houses were being remediated. Thank God, they made it.
We’re very proud of how we represent Pasadena, Altadena. It’s a great community. They’ve opened their doors to us and we try to respect it. And you see it in the show, we show the best parts of it and it’s a great background. We had to wait to get into our houses, so we did the interiors. And then when we shot the exteriors, we did all of the (scenes). We did like six, seven shows in one week, in the back, in the outside. But we couldn’t get in for months, we were behind… It was really tricky, but it was a fun challenge. We love the people of Pasadena, Altadena.
Luke Tennie
(Returning to Altadena and Pasadena) felt great — and let me explain why. In my light research, I’ve learned how beneficial it can be to work in places that have experienced natural disasters. I grew up in South Florida, so our disasters look different, a lot of hurricanes and rain and tropical storms. There’d be a lot of damage there. But the most important thing about where we live is what takes place here. The industry that makes a lot of the money here is film and TV. So the more that we can shoot in these locations, the more we can nurse them back to health. “Shrinking” is a Pasadena show. It’s an Altadena show. It takes place there. The more we can actually operate there and create work there, and bring revenue and jobs there, the better the place will be. So I hope that we can do, I don’t know, maybe about 87 or 89 more seasons of “Shrinking,” to be specific. I think that’ll all just help the city out in terms of growing and repairing the damage that was done.
