Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Shrinking season 3, episode 2, “Happiness Mission.”Ted Lasso‘s Roy Kent may be everywhere, but actor Brett Goldstein has abruptly exited a different Apple TV series.
Goldstein is one of the co-creators of Shrinking, a critically acclaimed comedy-drama show that is now in its third season. He joined the Shrinking season 2 cast as Louis, who is revealed to be the drunk driver that killed Tia (Lilan Bowden), the wife of Jimmy (Jason Segel). By season 3, Jimmy and his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) are on good terms with him. However, Tia’s best friend, Gaby (Jessica Williams), has not forgiven Louis and makes that clear to him.
While speaking with Decider, Williams explained that she struggled to accept the idea that Gaby would approve of Jimmy and Alice spending time with Louis. She brought this up to co-creator and showrunner Bill Lawrence, and it was decided that it would be addressed by Gaby not being fully aware of Jimmy and Alice’s relationship with Louis and having her own scene with him in season 2.
Due to time constraints, her moment with Louis was moved to Shrinking season 3, episode 2, where she would insist that he move on with his life. Along with the narrative reasoning behind this, it would also allow Goldstein to resume his work on Ted Lasso. Read Williams’ explanation below:
In Season 2, I could not reconcile for Gaby in my head this idea that she would know about Louis and Jimmy and Alice hanging out and be OK with it. So I spoke to Bill Lawrence about it at length. What they did was they made the scenes in Season 2 where Gaby never actually hears Alice and Jimmy talking about hanging out with Louis. Bill was like, “At the end of Season 2, we’ll have a scene with you and Louis.” Because I thought Gaby would be so upset. And it didn’t happen at the end of Season 2, because there was no time. So Bill was like, “I’m sorry about that. We’re going to get on top of Season 3. Basically you’re going to go tell Brett to start working on Ted Lasso again.” That’s where he went.
Along with performing Louis’ emotional scene with Gaby, Goldstein wrote the episode, giving him even further ownership over his character’s series exit. Williams has a different kind of relationship with Goldstein than Gaby has with Louis, as she described the Ted Lasso star as “the sweetest man” and “a buff Muppet.”
He wrote that and is the sweetest man. He’s like a Muppet — a buff Muppet. He’s just sweet. And anytime he’s a writer, anytime he comes on set, it’s like, “Brett’s here! Oh my god, Brett’s here!” Everyone’s excited.
Even though Goldstein is not a series regular, his departure still came as a surprise, especially after Louis and Jimmy found common ground in the Shrinking season 2 finale. Louis was becoming an increasingly integral part of the show, first through his friendship with Brian (Michael Urie), and then through his shared moments with Jimmy and Alice. While Gaby does not like Louis, she does help him finally move forward, and his parting words remind Jimmy that this progress is also possible for him if he can be open to it.
Since Shrinking was renewed for season 4 ahead of the season 3 premiere, there is a chance of Louis returning in the show’s future. Apple TV subscribers will definitely be able to see him in Ted Lasso season 4, where he is reprising the role of fan-favorite character Roy. The sports comedy is confirmed to be returning in summer 2026, although a more specific release date has not been announced yet.
- Release Date
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January 27, 2023
- Network
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Apple TV
- Showrunner
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Bill Lawrence
