Though it’s been a dozen years since Jason Segel starred in How I Met Your Mother, his current role in the third season of Shrinking shows he’s still a compelling actor. The Apple TV+ series features Segel as Jimmy, a therapist trying to cope with the loss of his wife. He’s supported by his boss and mentor, Paul (Harrison Ford), coworker Gaby (Jessica Williams), daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell), and a close-knit group of friends who feel like family.
Though both Shrinking and How I Met Your Mother are comedies, they’re very different shows in terms of their style and what they’re about. Jason Segel, who co-created Shrinking with Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, also played a major role in How I Met Your Mother, so it’s understandable that people are drawing comparisons. The release of Shrinking’s third season gives us another chance to see how the two shows stack up against each other.
Alice Going To Wesleyan In Shrinking Pays Homage To Jason Segel’s How I Met Your Mother Character
The third season of Shrinking begins with Jimmy facing the fact that his daughter, Alice, is almost ready for college. Though he wishes she’d stay home, he’s determined to do everything he can to help her get into the college of her dreams. This puts Jimmy in a position where he needs to be incredibly supportive and encouraging when a scout from Wesleyan University comes to watch Alice play soccer.
Fans of How I Met Your Mother likely noticed a familiar detail in Shrinking: when Jimmy mentioned Wesleyan University in season 3, episode 1. Wesleyan is where Marshall, Ted, and Lily first met before moving to New York City and the iconic apartment. Considering How I Met Your Mother features several flashbacks to their time at Wesleyan, Alice choosing to attend the same university in Shrinking feels like a fun nod to the original series.
Shrinking Already Featured A Fun How I Met Your Mother Reunion
This isn’t the first time the show Shrinking has linked to How I Met Your Mother beyond Jason Segel’s involvement, and it won’t be the last. In season 2, Jimmy tried to buy Alice a yellow Mini Cooper and found one being sold by a charming woman named Sofi, who had recently gotten divorced. That character was played by Cobie Smulders – best known as Robin from How I Met Your Mother.
It was understandably a thrilling moment to see Jason Segel and Cobie Smulders share the screen again, as they haven’t worked together since the end of How I Met Your Mother. But the excitement doesn’t stop there—Smulders will also be joining season 3 of Shrinking, and her character could become a love interest for Jimmy.
It’s funny to see Jason Segel and Cobie Smulders as a couple, considering their characters, Marshall and Robin, were famously the least romantic pair on How I Met Your Mother. Despite that, they still have great chemistry together! They’ve worked together for years, and that long-standing connection really shines on screen. While How I Met Your Mother has ended, Shrinking offers a nostalgic return to that familiar dynamic.
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2026-01-30 03:00