‘Shrinking' star Ted McGinley has been ‘brought to tears' by the response to his performance: ‘It's been an amazing journey'
Ted McGinley has been a television star for decades, dating back to his debut performance on Happy Days and series regular work in '80s stalwarts like The Love Boat, Dynasty, and Married… With Children. However, for years, McGinley was dogged by an unfounded reputation as a show killer, to the extent that McGinley has said in past interviews that his moniker as the 'patron saint of jumping the shark' cost him acting jobs.
So, McGinley is understandably emotional about the universal acclaim he's received for his performance on the Apple TV+ comedy series Shrinking.
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'I'm telling you, I've been brought to tears,' McGinley tells Gold Derby. 'I'm so used to being the worst, or being told that I'm such a bad guy to add to a show. This has been an amazing journey and experience, and I honestly feel blessed. I'm working in scenes with Harrison Ford. I worshipped him as a young guy. My entire life, I've seen everything he's done. I love him, and Jason Segel — these are my contemporaries now. I mean, I still pinch myself every day. Do not tell anyone this, but I would go to work for free.'
Co-created by Segel, Brett Goldstein (who also appeared in Season 2), and Bill Lawrence, Shrinking focuses on Jimmy (Segel), a widowed therapist who tries to put his life back together following the death of his wife with the help of several close friends, including fellow therapists Paul and Gaby (Ford and past Emmy nominee Jessica Williams), his longtime friend Brian (Michael Urie), and his neighbors, Liz and Derek (Christa MIller and McGinley). In Season 2, Liz and Derek find their relationship tested, as one of Liz's old flames comes back into her life. The conflict, which culminates with Liz and the ex sharing a clandestine kiss that she later confesses to Derek, provided McGinley with some of his best material yet.
'I didn't know where they were going to go with this thing, and I purposely don't ask, because I love how it affects me as an actor,' McGinley says about Liz and Derek's rough patch. 'It feels genuine and, in this particular instance, I had tears in my eyes for Derek. I felt so bad for him because he loves her so much, and they have a truly unusual relationship, one that is deeply rooted in honesty. Both are allowed to say whatever they want to each other, and she says it however she wants, and Derek doesn't take offense to it, because he knows really what he knows about where she lives. He knows really what she means and what her bottom line is, and that sometimes it comes across harsh, but she feels different.'
In the show's seventh episode, Derek confronts Liz about her brief moment of infidelity and speaks openly for the first time about how he feels betrayed. It's a showcase scene for McGinley, whose ability to keep the dialogue realistic and feeling contemporaneous is unmatched. (Fortunately, the show is a comedy series, and Liz and Derek reconcile by the end of the episode.)
'I feel like the writing is so special and so high-brow that they don't ever write down to anyone, and that you're never asked to play something obvious,' McGinley says. 'That's such a unique pleasure. We create this environment on the set, which is safe, allowing you to take chances and fail without anyone caring. There's no judgment — you can take a huge swing, get up, and take another one. When you're on a set, it's always about time. We're always in a hurry, and in this show, it never feels like that's the case. They always make room, and that's because the crew is so gracious and kind, allowing you to take chances and do it again.'
McGinley says it also helps to have a scene partner like Miller. 'When you're doing a scene like that, it's so intimate, and with Christa, I can never anticipate what she's going to do,' he says. 'She's a very difficult read as a human being and as an actress, and so it's so fantastic to work opposite someone that you could never anticipate what's coming. She's just so wonderfully talented and unique.'
Shrinking Season 2 is eligible for Emmy Awards consideration this year, and the creative team behind the Apple TV+ series hopes to increase its nominations total from Season 1, where the series landed two acting bids for Segel and Williams. The cast is back, now shooting Season 3, which is expected to premiere later this year.
McGinley says they've shot about seven episodes thus far, with some pickups to come because of production disruptions caused by the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.
'There are challenges this year, and you see a lot of Derek and Liz — I've had a lot of interesting things to play so far, and it's going to be an interesting year for Derek,' McGinley says, loathe to reveal too much about what fans of the show can expect.
'By the way, every episode, I'm always afraid they're going to write me off or kill me,' he jokes. 'Am I still in it?'
All episodes of Shrinking are available to stream on Apple TV+.
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