A lot has been made of iconic actor Michael J. Fox’s return to TV on Apple TV‘s Shrinking Season 3. And the season premiere, “My Bad,” wastes no time introducing the legend, as Paul (Harrison Ford) encounters him while waiting for an appointment for his Parkinson’s. But by the end of the episode, a wild twist definitely made me question everything I just watched. So, spoilers past this point: is Michael J. Fox real on the Shrinking Season 3 premiere, or is he merely a Parkinson’s induced hallucination?
To take a little step back, Ford’s Paul has been dealing with Parkinson’s disease for the past few seasons, and is seen in the opening montage with it getting worse, his meds not working as well as they used to. Heading to the Sierra Madre Neurology Specialists for a check-up, Paul sits down in the waiting area where Fox’s character has been waiting for a while.
First of all, a little editorializing: Fox has been dealing and surviving with Parkinson’s for years now, so it’s fantastic to see him back in comedy. And his second line is laugh-out-loud funny. He asks Paul what he’s in for, Paul says Parkinson’s, asks Fox what he’s there for and Fox quips “just a haircut.”
Fox’s character, by the way, is named Gerry, and as they talk through their various Parkinson’s symptoms, we even get a little meta-moment as Ford’s Paul says he “feels s**tty complaining to you,” which can only be read as Ford — who does not have Parkinson’s in real life — somewhat apologizing for fictionalizing the real symptoms Fox is dealing with every day.
Anyway, back to it. “How’s your brain?” Gerry asks. “Any hallucinations?”
“No, thank god,” Paul answers, setting up Chekhov’s hallucination.
“They’re the worst,” Gerry continues. “Bad enough your body goes, but then you start seeing s**t. It’s scary. I didn’t even know that was a thing with Parkinson’s.”
The scene continues as they talk more about symptoms, and then the doctor comes out to get Paul, telling Fox, “Gerry, I’ll grab you in a minute.” Paul leaves, Gerry gets the last punchline (“What the f**k, I was here first.”) and that’s pretty much it… Until the end of the episode.
While taking a break from his spontaneous wedding to Dr. Julie Baram (Wendie Malick), Paul heads to the kitchen to get some water. He turns around and there’s Gerry, eating cake at the table.
“Gerry, what are you doing here?” Paul asks.
“Hey, don’t get too excited,” Gerry answers. “I just love cake.”
Julie enters, and asks who Paul is talking to. “Gerry,” he answers, pointing to the table… But there’s nobody there. Julie looks at him questioningly, and with a realization, Paul says simply: “Oh. You don’t see him, do you. Woof.”
So yeah, Gerry was not there eating cake at all (though he may love cake, TBD), he was a Parkinson’s-induced hallucination, and Paul’s symptoms have once again worsened. However, and this is important: Gerry is real, just not at the end of the episode. In the earlier scene, as you may recall the doctor referred to Gerry by name. And without spoiling anything, Fox shows up at least twice more throughout the season, with other characters interacting with him, so this isn’t a Fight Club scenario or anything. It’s merely a way of depicting Paul’s mental state and progression with Parkinson’s, as well as giving Fox a role that helps with his ongoing advocacy on behalf of Parkinson’s research. To the latter? Hooray! To the former? Woof.
Shrinking Season 3 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of Shrinking Season 3 technically premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV, though given time zones in the United States new episodes will hit the service at 9pm ET / 6pm PT on Tuesdays. We’ve listed the Wednesday dates below, just for posterity.
Here’s what we expect from the full list of episodes in Shrinking Season 3, with premiere dates.
- Wednesday, January 28, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 1, “My Bad”
- Wednesday, February 4, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 2, “Happiness Mission”
- Wednesday, February 11, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 3, “D-Day”
- Wednesday, February 18, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 4, “The Field”
- Wednesday, February 25, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 5, “Hold Your Horsies”
- Wednesday, March 4, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 6, “Dereks Don’t Die”
- Wednesday, March 11, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 7, “I Will Be Grape”
- Wednesday, March 18, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 8, “Depression Diet”
- Wednesday, March 25, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 9, “TBA”
- Wednesday, April 1, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 10, “TBA”
- Wednesday, April 8, 2026: Shrinking, Season 3, Episode 11, “TBA” *Season Finale*
Where To Watch Shrinking Season 3
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