In between tense sci-fi sagas like Severance and gripping thrillers like Cape Fear, Apple TV has become a great platform for cozy comfort watches. Ted Lasso might be the first example people think of in that camp, and while that will be returning for Season 4 by the end of the year, another Bill Lawrence series will also be returning with Jason Segel‘s hit dramedy, Shrinking. The series has been widely praised for its authentic depictions of mental health and therapy, and that’s likely only going to continue in the upcoming fourth season, which just recently added MCU star Karen Gillan ahead of her role in Henry Cavill‘s Highlander remake.
Season 3 starts a whole new chapter in the lives of Jimmy (Segel), Paul (Harrison Ford), and many of the other characters in the ensemble. That certainly raised questions for fans, but now, we finally have some clarification. Collider spoke with several cast members from the series at Newport TV Fest, and we can now confirm that not only will there be a significant time jump from Season 3 to Season 4, but that gap will be about “2 years.” The timeframe itself was confirmed by Michael Urie, who is excited to further explore fatherhood with his character of Brian. Lukita Maxwell, who plays Alice in the series, also relayed that it still feels like business as usual for the hit show even after the Backrooms star’s character left for college:
“I don’t know if it’s any different from any other season. You’re always going to catch them in a new place or in a new state of mind and I think it is exciting that there is a significant chunk of time because I am now once again closer in age to my character. But I think in terms of how I personally work going into it, it’s close to the same.”
Collider Exclusive · Taylor Sheridan Universe Quiz Which Taylor Sheridan Show Do You Belong In? Yellowstone · Landman · Tulsa King · Mayor of Kingstown
Four worlds. All of them brutal, complicated, and built on power, loyalty, and the price of survival. Taylor Sheridan doesn’t write heroes — he writes people who do what they have to do and live with the cost. Ten questions will reveal which one of his worlds you were made for.
🤠Yellowstone
🛢️Landman
👑Tulsa King
⚖️Mayor of Kingstown
01
Where does your power come from? In Sheridan’s world, everyone has leverage. The question is what kind.
02
Who do you put first, no matter what? Loyalty in Sheridan’s universe is always absolute — and always costly.
03
Someone crosses a line. How do you respond? Every Sheridan protagonist has a line. What matters is what happens after it’s crossed.
04
Where do you feel most in your element? Sheridan’s worlds are as much about place as they are about people.
05
How do you feel about operating in the grey? Nobody in a Sheridan show has clean hands. The question is how they carry the dirt.
06
What are you actually fighting to hold onto? Every Sheridan character is fighting a war. The real question is what they’re defending.
07
How do you lead? Authority in Sheridan’s world is never given — it’s established, maintained, and constantly tested.
08
Someone new arrives and tries to change how things work. Your reaction? Every Sheridan show has an outsider disrupting an established order. Sometimes that outsider is you.
09
What has your position cost you? Nobody gets to where these characters are without paying for it. The bill is always personal.
10
When it’s over, what do you want people to say? Sheridan’s characters all know the ending is coming. The question is what they leave behind.
Sheridan Has Spoken You Belong In…
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
🤠 Yellowstone
🛢️ Landman
👑 Tulsa King
⚖️ Mayor of Kingstown
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
The norm for most shows in the streaming era is typically around 8 to 12 episodes, and Shrinking has benefited from swinging toward the higher end of that range. That’s set to be the case again this season, with Harrison Ford recently confirming that the next season of the series will be a whopping 12 episodes long. What can fans expect? Well, those are surprises that even the cast aren’t ready for. We also had the chance to speak with Ted McGinley at NPTVF, and the TV vet confirmed that much of the plot info is kept under wraps until mere days before filming, which he finds to be a benefit, saying, “It’s really fun to not know” what to expect from one of television’s most innovative comedies.
The first three seasons of Shrinking are streaming now on Apple TV. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on Season 4.
![‘Shrinking’ Time Jump Officially Confirmed Ahead of Season 4 [Exclusive]](https://static0.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/shrinking-season-3-michael-urie-devin-kawaoka-christa-miller.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop "‘Shrinking’ Time Jump Officially Confirmed Ahead of Season 4 [Exclusive]")
