If you want to talk about inspired casting, look no further than Shrinking bringing on Cobie Smulders to play Jason Segel’s love interest. The two have a long and rich history together, seeing as they played friends on How I Met Your Mother for nine seasons. Now, they’re exploring their chemistry in a totally new way in Season 3 of Shrinking as Jimmy and Sofi, and Smulders told me why the “magic” between them worked again.
In the past, Jason Segel has said that his chemistry with Smulders is impacted greatly by their history on How I Met Your Mother. He explained that the “magic trick” of Jimmy and Sofi’s relationship is that it feels like they’re “meant for each other” even though they “just met” because the actors playing them have known each other for 20 years. When I interviewed Smulders, I brought up these comments and asked what it was like for her to play Segel’s love interest after they played Robin and Marshall for so long. In response, she said:
First of all, like, what a wonderful invitation. I was really honored, I think, to be asked to join for as much as I have. Because, like you, I think that the show is so great, and I really enjoy watching everybody on it. And then I got to hang out with my friend, Jason, you know, and got to work with him again. I have so much fun on set with Jason, like I really do.
You can tell these two have a lot of fun together, too. I mean, if you watched this week’s episode, “I Will Be Grape,” with an Apple TV+ subscription, you got to see that. At this point in Season 3 of Shrinking, Jimmy and Sofi’s relationship is starting to flourish as she met his family and friends on Tia’s birthday. So, it’s been lovely to see Smulders and Segel really capitalize on their history and chemistry.
Speaking about their genuine admiration for each other and what it’s like to see that captured on camera, the How I Met Your Mother actress told me:
The way that I'm enamored with him as a human somehow gets recorded by cameras and gets put on a show. I don't know the magic of that and how that happens, but I just think he's such a wonderful person, and he's so talented, and he's so funny. And so I just like being around him.
Ultimately, Smulders was simply thrilled to be asked to do Shrinking. It was for two great reasons, too. Obviously, she was excited to work with her long-time co-star again. However, she also noted how much she loves the writing of this comedy, explaining:
And so when we were asked to do this, it was a combination of just like getting to be with him, and then also getting to be on a show where the writing is so excellent, and they and the crew is so amazing. It was just an absolute blast.
You can feel that positive energy on screen, too. As Jimmy and Sofi’s relationship has grown, it really has felt like a genuine and deep love was forming. That magic is thanks, in part, to the two actors’ history together.
Now, to see how Jimmy and Sofi’s story continues, and to keep watching these two How I Met Your Mother actors having fun on a new show together, Shrinking will continue to drop new episodes on the 2026 TV schedule every Wednesday on Apple TV.
