Harrison Ford To Star In Apple TV+ Series: Here's Why It's A Big Deal For The Hollywood Legend

After decades as a big screen fixture, Harrison Ford is taking on his first television series role for Apple Inc.’s AAPL streaming service Apple TV+.

What Happened: Deadline reports Ford is starring in “Shrinking,” a 10-episode comedy series about two psychiatrists. Ford plays what is described as a “blue collar shrink” who re-evaluates his legacy when confronted with a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, while Jason Segel plays a therapist who overcomes his own trauma by speaking with more frankness to his clients.

“Shrinking” will be produced by Warner Bros. Television and Doozer Productions, the company run by “Ted Lasso” co-creator Bill Lawrence, with Segel serving as an executive producer. No premiere date has been sent for the series.

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Why It Matters: The 79-year-old Ford was last seen in the 2020 “Call of the Wild,” which was a critical and commercial disappointment. His next film is an untitled reprise of his Indiana Jones character, which finished production in February and is being aimed for a June 2023 release.

“Shrinking” marks a return to Ford’s earliest days as an actor. In the late 1960s and prior to his breakthrough role in 1977’s “Star Wars,” Ford had small roles in a number of popular television series including “The Virginian,” “The F.B.I.” and “Love, American Style.”

After the now-legendary 1978 fiasco “The Star Wars Holiday Special,” Ford stayed away from the small screen for decades, returning only to appear in one episode of the 1993 series “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” and as the host of two episodes of the 2014 Showtime documentary series “Years of Living Dangerously.”

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons