Kelly Bishop joins ‘Shrinking’ as Harrison Ford’s ex-wife in exclusive first look

Kelly Bishop knows her way around family drama.

The Gilmore Girls star made it a true art portraying Emily Gilmore over seven seasons of the hit show. Now, she’s bringing her penchant for one-liners and fearlessness to Shrinking, guest starring in episode 5 as the ex-wife of Paul (Harrison Ford). Entertainment Weekly has your first look at her character, Susan.

When Paul’s daughter, Meg (Lily Rabe), comes to town for a professional presentation, Susan makes a visit as well — reconnecting with Paul and hashing out some of their old wounds. Up until this point, we’ve only heard Paul speak about his ex-wife (generally, not very kindly, either).

“We always knew we were going to bring Paul’s ex-wife in because the second season was a lot about dealing with your past,” creator Bill Lawrence tells Entertainment Weekly. “And you can’t really move forward until you deal with your past.”

“This season is about forgiveness,” he adds. “Her arrival is a huge component because it’s tied into Paul’s family, and getting to hear, through Kelly, why he’s estranged from his daughter and what he feels guilty about was a great thing for his character.”

While much of the audience will likely know Bishop best for Gilmore Girls, the Shrinking team love Bishop for her work on the stage. “We thought Kelly Bishop would be great, partially because we wanted someone to be Harrison Ford’s contemporary,” Lawrence explains of her casting. “Secondly, we’re Broadway nerds and the fact that she was an original Chorus Line cast member made everybody so excited. So it wasn’t just Gilmore Girls, it’s also partially because of the Broadway love of the staff of Shrinking.”

But the main part of Bishop’s appeal was her ability to go toe-to-toe to Ford. “The best thing, as far as her assertive nature, we knew Kelly, just from having been fans, could definitely not only stand up to Paul, but even just dropping in for a few scenes, immediately feel like his equal and someone that could give as much as she got,” Lawrence says. “Man, we love that combo of the two of them.”

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Indeed, for Bishop, this marked her first opportunity to work with Ford despite being contemporaries. “This was the first time I had the pleasure of working with Harrison Ford,” she says. “I found him professional, amiable, and a delight to work with.”

Bishop’s appearance is in episode 5, “Honesty Era,” which debuts on Apple TV + Nov. 6.