{"id":992914,"date":"2026-08-10T11:32:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/992914\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T11:32:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:32:27","slug":"shrinking-helped-jessica-williams-work-through-a-traumatic-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/992914\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Shrinking’ helped Jessica Williams work through a ‘traumatic’ time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jessica Williams always goes to bed laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s so sad,\u201d the actor explains. \u201cNot taking yourself seriously is the only way, because otherwise I would just be upset, especially as a Black woman in the year 2026. I hate when people are on \u2018The Bachelor\u2019 and they\u2019re like, \u2018I love laughing,\u2019 but it\u2019s true. I really love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams, 37, knows a thing or two about making others laugh. A three-time Emmy nominee for supporting actress in a comedy series for her work on \u201cShrinking,\u201d she\u2019s made an art of it. On a show about grief and mental health, Williams is often on hand to bring the funny.<\/p>\n

Curled up in a chair on the top floor of The Times\u2019 offices in El Segundo, looking down on the runways of LAX boiling in the late July sun, Williams gives runway fierceness against the beige office walls. She is just like the pop of bubblegum pink polish on her toenails as she strikes a pose in a chic all-black linen ensemble \u2014 a delightful burst of cheer in a subdued environment, something effervescent amid so much inoffensive sameness. She\u2019s always been that way.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

I would know; I\u2019ve known her since we were 12 years old, awkward adolescents in Marcia Barryte\u2019s Dodson Middle School drama class. As we catch up, I remind her of a PG-13 scene she caused in eighth grade science class during an earthquake drill. (To be fair, the drama students were asked to play standardized patients, and she was assigned \u201chysteria.\u201d) While the class collected our backpacks, she broke into an award-worthy performance, wailing about not wanting to die a virgin.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d she gasps, covering her mouth but unable to hide the mischievous grin that\u2019s broken across her face at the memory. \u201cThat\u2019s very inappropriate. I love that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under slightly different circumstances, it\u2019s a storyline that could belong to her \u201cShrinking\u201d character, Gaby Evans, a therapist who brings her sunny demeanor, audacious sense of humor and enviable stores of energy into every room. That\u2019s partly because so much of who Gaby is has been carefully honed by the writers and Williams to align with the actor\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can write almost anything and Jessica can make it sound like it has stemmed from Gaby,\u201d says series co-creator Bill Lawrence. \u201cShe\u2019s in charge of Gaby\u2019s voice \u2014 and it\u2019s a tremendous safety net for us as a writing staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jessica <\/p>\n

Jessica Williams in \u201cShrinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Apple TV)<\/p>\n

Williams agrees this has been her experience, one she\u2019s grateful for in an industry often dead set on ignoring perspectives like hers. \u201cAt the end of the day, white guys are in charge of this business,\u201d she says. \u201cProgress in film and TV requires them to go to bat for us. I feel really lucky to be on a show where Bill pulled me aside and was like, \u2018If I\u2019m doing my job right, the first couple episodes, we write these stories, and then, there\u2019s a moment where it switches to being your character and you are the shepherd of her.\u2019 It made it really collaborative and a safe space for me to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three seasons in, the set has become the world\u2019s best playground. For instance, the writers gave Williams ample runway in a scene where Gaby turns the tables and proposes to her boyfriend, Derek (Damon Wayans Jr.), after discovering an engagement ring in a desk drawer (and getting it stuck on her finger). \u201cLook, if you\u2019re a television writer and you have a proposal scene and you don\u2019t let Jessica Williams run with it, you\u2019re cheating yourself,\u201d quips Lawrence.<\/p>\n

That mutual trust doesn\u2019t mean that Gaby and Williams are the same person \u2014 just that Williams\u2019 lived experience has shaped who Gaby is. \u201cThe point of a scene is we don\u2019t know what it\u2019s going to be,\u201d she says. \u201cWe learned our lines. We\u2019re going to show up. The director\u2019s here. They have an idea. We\u2019re going to make this thing together. We\u2019re going to \u2018Yes, and?\u2019 until we get the scene up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her ability to take the ball and run with it is what caught Lawrence\u2019s eye in the first place, discovering Williams as a correspondent on \u201cThe Daily Show.\u201d \u201cShe works very hard at making it seem like it\u2019s off the cuff,\u201d he emphasizes. \u201cShe is quick to call the writing staff with questions and is always looking to improve things. That\u2019s not always the truth with everybody. She works her ass off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"El \"Jessica <\/p>\n

Jessica Williams. (Ryan Pfluger \/ For The Times) <\/p>\n

That work ethic was essential for her Season 3 arc, which found Williams facing some of the toughest acting challenges of her career. Gaby bonds with a new, albeit reluctant, patient, Maya (Sherry Cola), only to be devastated when Maya takes her own life. It\u2019s the heaviest storyline of the season \u2014 and a heartbreaking look at the realities of suicide, loss and trauma in the lives of mental health professionals.<\/p>\n

One of the show\u2019s consultants had experienced a similar loss, and their insights helped the writing staff find dramatic resonance. For Williams, it was a chance to showcase what she always believed she was capable of. \u201cFor women, people of color, queer people, any minorities, we just want the opportunity to show what we can do,\u201d Williams says. \u201cI was rubbing my hands together. Like, \u2018F\u2014 yeah. Let\u2019s go.\u2019 But I was also really nervous. Sometimes when I get scenes that are a bit more difficult, I wake up and I wonder if I can do it. Every single time it\u2019s proving to myself that I can. It felt like I didn\u2019t get to rest last season in a way that was really nice. Most times I feel like I\u2019m just goofing, but that felt like, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m an actor.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an inevitable side effect of appearing on a Bill Lawrence show. His blend of humor and pathos demands a high-wire act from his ensembles. \u201cWith Bill, you have to have the acting chops to be able to do the drama, but then be able to turn a joke very quickly,\u201d says Christa Miller, who\u2019s been married to Lawrence since 1999 and played major roles on \u201cScrubs\u201d and \u201cCougar Town\u201d before \u201cShrinking,\u201d in which she stars as Liz. \u201cYou really have to be able to do it on a dime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawrence clocked early on that Williams had the chops to hold her own against heavyweights like Harrison Ford. \u201cWe knew comedically she would crush it. The only question mark was about who she was as an actress,\u201d says Lawrence. \u201cBut she was great from the second she set foot onstage. It would\u2019ve been a massive mistake not to let her showcase that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The storyline also pushed Williams to reopen an old wound. In 2019, she lost her longtime boyfriend to a heroin overdose. \u201cHe had a therapist who had come recommended from my therapist,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t remember that time that much because it was so intense and traumatic. I do remember my therapist was helping me work through it, but she was also like, \u2018I\u2019d like to check in with his therapist and see how he\u2019s doing.\u2019 That was the first place I went when they told me about that storyline. It was a good opportunity to work through that a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"August <\/p>\n

Even though her grief was readily accessible, it also churned up emotions that Williams often tries to quiet. \u201cThere\u2019s always something when someone dies, whether it\u2019s suicide or an accident, where you feel guilt,\u201d she reflects. \u201c\u2018What could I have done?\u2019 It was something that I\u2019ve processed and am still processing, and it was easy to transfer that into Season 3. Grief is so ongoing. It\u2019s a wound that I have forever, and I would give anything to not have it. But now I have it, and I live with it. It\u2019s like an old friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams describes the days filming those scenes as different for her, harder to shake. Driving home from the set in Burbank, she\u2019d often take side streets back to her house in Eagle Rock, getting lost in music and her environment. \u201cIt felt like trying to shed it,\u201d she explains. \u201cI really felt it. But so many people responded to it in a way that was what I wanted. It\u2019s such an intimate thing, this job, and to be able to portray something [that resonates], that\u2019s the whole point.\u201d<\/p>\n

One emotion the work generated that she wasn\u2019t expecting? Embarrassment. \u201cI\u2019m usually not embarrassed doing comedy,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018There\u2019s no rules. We can try anything.\u2019 It doesn\u2019t feel as vulnerable, whereas acting, there\u2019s something fundamentally so indulgent about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a surprising admission; though I haven\u2019t spent substantial time with Williams in years, she always seemed fearless to me. Willing to do whatever it took to get a laugh. It\u2019s why our drama teacher invented an entirely new role for her in our spring musical, to showcase her generational comedic talent.<\/p>\n

Williams agrees she was a cutup in class, but she never got the chance to do any capital-A acting in middle school. \u201cI would get a part, and then I wouldn\u2019t be able to do it,\u201d she recounts. \u201cMrs. Barryte would have to call my parents and be like, \u2018She did not do her homework. She has bad grades. She can\u2019t do the play.\u2019 I let people down. I remember feeling really sad about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat taught me I\u2019m a part of a team,\u201d she reflects. \u201cI have to be professional. I have to be ready. But I\u2019m glad I don\u2019t have to do my math homework to be able to perform. Public school\u2019s tough \u2014 you had to be an awkward Black girl and get good grades to do the musical.\u201d<\/p>\n

That all changed when Williams found improv, joining the ComedySportz team at Harbor City\u2019s Narbonne High (she continued on the college team while she was a student at Cal State Long Beach). \u201cI cared about improv so much that I wasn\u2019t not going to do my homework,\u201d she says. \u201cIt just affected my life profoundly. I\u2019m getting misty thinking about these programs that are underfunded, that s\u2014 really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams has also found reassurance in the response to her character. \u201cShe makes me more confident,\u201d she admits. \u201cJust seeing the response to Gaby. A lot of that is amazing writing, directing and an amazing crew, but it\u2019s also my instincts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I was like, \u2018Whoa, what the f\u2014?\u2019\u201d she says of her three Emmy nominations for the role. \u201cSecond time, it was like, \u2018OK, it wasn\u2019t a fluke.\u2019 And then the third time you\u2019re like, \u2018Oh s\u2014!\u2019 All the actresses that I admire are in this category, so I\u2019m honored. But these are my peers too. So it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, they see me.\u2019 Gaby means something to people, it feels like \u2014 and that\u2019s really nice. It encourages me to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for what that future will hold, besides at least one more season of \u201cShrinking,\u201d Williams is hungry to do a play on Broadway, having not done theater since high school. Somewhere in there she\u2019d like to capitalize on her tendency to play erudite characters and embody a detective in a thriller (preferably a paranormal one like her childhood faves \u201cSo Weird\u201d and \u201cThe X-Files\u201d).<\/p>\n

Mostly, though, she just wants to keep doing what she\u2019s been striving for since we were kids \u2014 \u201cI want, when you watch me, for you to feel like you\u2019ve seen something magic happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, abracadabra.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jessica Williams always goes to bed laughing. \u201cEverything\u2019s so sad,\u201d the actor explains. \u201cNot taking yourself seriously is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":992915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,19919,398041,139496,2961,9067,2252,224,5337,3546,9260,5950,4370,58571,213834,6718,17823,2612,398042],"class_list":["post-992914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-character","tag-gaby-evans","tag-jessica-williams","tag-la","tag-lawrence","tag-life","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-people","tag-scene","tag-season","tag-show","tag-shrinking","tag-storyline","tag-therapist","tag-thing","tag-williams","tag-writing-staff"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/992915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=992914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}