Shrinking Interview: Christa Miller on Liz’s Rocks, Purpose & More

Christa Miller is no stranger to hugely successful TV shows. She appeared on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Seinfeld, did over 180 episodes on The Drew Carey Show, over 80 on Scrubs, over 100 on Cougar Town, and now she’s a standout on an Apple TV gem, a series gearing up for what will hopefully be quite the awards season run, Shrinking. The series was co-created by Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel with Segel also starring as Jimmy Laird, a therapist struggling with the death of his wife. That means Jimmy hasn’t been the responsible, attentive parent he needs to be for his daughter, Alice (Lucite Maxwell). But, that’s where Miller’s Liz comes in. She’s the Lairds’ neighbor and the person who winds up taking responsibility for Alice when she needs support and an active guardian. Liz has a massive heart and many assets, but stepping back isn’t one of them, so Jimmy finally starts to make moves to put his life back together and reconnect with Alice, Liz isn’t quite ready to hand the reins over. In celebration of Shrinking’s acclaimed first season, Miller joined me for a Collider Ladies Night chat to recap the path she took in the industry and discuss her approach to playing Liz on Shrinking. Enjoy! Listen to this conversation uncut here: #shrinking #apple #interview 00:00 Dicey Questions 03:45 Introduction 04:06 Making Her Passion for Acting Public 05:45 Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 06:58 Saying No to Roles 08:39 The Importance of Feeling Embarrassed 10:39 Taking Big Swings on Shrinking 11:28 Ted McGinley 12:24 Jessica Williams & Harrison Ford 14:57 Liz’s Greatest Strengths 16:11 Shrinking’s Style of Comedy 17:33 Coverage Hierarchy 19:04 Would You Rather 20:59 Outro