‘Shrinking’ Co-Creator Bill Lawrence: Cobie Smulders’ Cameo Marks the Beginning of Jimmy “Moving Forward”

Fans went wild earlier this week when Shrinking Season 2, Episode 10 featured a mini How I Met Your Mother reunion between Jason Segel and Cobie Smulders. Now, it seems as though co-creator Bill Lawrence could be teasing her return in future episodes.

In the latest season of the hit AppleTV+ comedy starring Segel and Harrison Ford, Jimmy (Segel) has been forced to face his demons, including one in the form of a beardless Brett Goldstein, who plays the driver who hit and killed Jimmy’s wife Tia (Lilan Bowden) prior to the beginning of the series. It’s a lot for a comedy to tackle, but it’s also what has made the show a success. According to Lawrence, Shrinking is a “real” and honest representation of the stages of grief, which ends in acceptance. Given that, the screenwriter and executive producer says the introduction of Smulders’ character is the start of the next chapter for Jimmy, one where he can finally move forward.

“The one thing we decided on the show [is the] first season is about grief. Second season is about forgiveness. Third season is about moving forward. And I think, you know, we kind of showed a great guest star in the last episode last week who kind of represents moving on,” Lawrence told the audience during a Paley Center panel in Los Angeles on Thursday evening.

During the episode, “Changing Patterns,” Jimmy reaches out to Sofi (Smulders), the seller of a yellow MINI Cooper that he wants to purchase for Alice’s (Lukita Maxwell) 18th birthday. The car is the exact make and model of the one that Tia — whose death propelled the storyline of Season 1 and whose presence is very much felt in the show — drove in college. Turning up at Sofi’s house with Derek (Ted McGinley) to negotiate for the car, Jimmy discovers the woman he is buying from is a single mom with whom he has some crazy chemistry (and banter!), leading to an exchange of phone numbers and later a text conversation.

Their scene only lasted a few minutes but it was enough to have the HIMYM fanatics shrieking as it’s been more than a decade since Robin (Smulders) and Marshall (Segel) were last on screen together. The CBS show — which also starred Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, and Josh Radnor — ended its nine-season run in 2013 and cemented its place in sitcom history as one of the most beloved ensemble comedies of all time… even if the ending is one of the most hated. Nevertheless, Lawrence said that getting two members of the McClaren’s Pub gang back together for Shrinking is something special, indeed.

“That made me really happy to see them back together again,” he told the cheering crowd as Segel pumped his fists in excitement.

As for how Jimmy and Sofi’s arc lands in the newest episode, a verbal confrontation from Alice interrupts Jimmy from responding to Sofi’s text at the end of the episode. The distraction cannot hide the smirk on his face before Alice barges in, however, so there is definitely something there. Who knew Marshall and Robin had so much easy chemistry?!

Lawrence played it coy and did not directly confirm whether or not Smulders would be making her way back to Pasadena for Season 3 — which was greenlit by AppleTV+ mere hours after the first episode of Season 2 premiered — but it does feel like the door is wide open for more.

As for Smulders, Decider’s senior entertainment reporter Nicole Gallucci recently spoke with the Avengers and Friends From College star about her surprise cameo.

“It was just like the good old times,” Smulders said of the reunion with her HIMYM co-star. “Jason and I grew up together. We worked together for nine years. We know each other so well. We have so many shared experiences. We already have such a history. So to play another type of dynamic and to play other people doesn’t feel weird to us… Our hope is that we can take our [Robin and Marshall] hats off for a couple scenes.”

So would she be down to reprise her role as Sofi for more episodes? In a heartbeat, she said.

“Yes, of course. I don’t know what they have planned for Season 3. I don’t know anything about it. But, of course, I would always jump at the opportunity to work with Jason and the entire cast again for sure.”

We’ll have to wait and see. Hopefully it won’t be the last for this pair of old friends in new roles.

The first 10 episodes of Shrinking Season 2 are now available on AppleTV+. New episodes release on Thursdays.