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'Shrinking' creator Bill Lawrence opens up about working with his longtime friend Michael J. Fox on the Apple TV show at THR x Social Impact Fund's Social Impact Summit, where Lawrence moderated a conversation with Fox and Deborah W. Brooks, who were honored with Philanthropic Organization of the Year for The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Plus, he opens up about Harrison Ford and Michael J. Fox's working relationship on the Apple TV comedy.

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00:00So why was it important for you to be here today and help honor Michael J. Fox?
00:04A lot of my TV shows are about mentorship, and Mike was probably one of my first mentors.
00:11The first show I created, I was 26, in Spin City.
00:14It was me and Mike, and it was just very odd that this part of our lives crossed,
00:23because my grandfather had Parkinson's at the time, and so when I found out this iconic hero of mine also
00:27had it,
00:28it felt like kind of worlds colliding, and so it's not only Mike has been part of my life as
00:36an artist and as a buddy,
00:37but man, I'm incredibly passionate and proud of all the work he's done with his foundation. It's bananas.
00:45What has it been like reuniting with him and having him on Shrinking?
00:49Oh, it's been such an absolute gas, you know? I can't believe, look, we did Spin City, and he retired,
00:56and I'm like, yo, man, I could use some help on Scrubs, and he unretired and did Scrubs,
01:00and now he's unretiring and he's on Shrinking. It's insane.
01:03So I did a scene yesterday with Mike Fox and Harrison Ford together,
01:08and I was having this time warp thing of like, oh my God, this is my childhood of every movie
01:12and TV show I ever watched.
01:14It was amazing.
01:14And to see him, you know, he's still so sharp and funny and his timing's so crazy,
01:20to see him just get into the passion of doing a gig and working was amazing.
01:26Harrison, of course, is here today presenting Michael J. Fox with this honor.
01:29When could you tell on set that they had a special working relationship?
01:33Well, you know, this is going to get me in trouble, but Harrison gets emotional all the time,
01:36you know what I mean, on the show.
01:38I think it's because he's passionate about the show and because in a lot of ways he's playing a character
01:45that overlaps with his own life
01:47and someone that might have to give up some things that he's passionate about
01:51as Harrison kind of reaches the tail end of his acting career.
01:54And so the first day they were working together, you know, Harrison was all in emotionally,
02:01and watching him and Mike connect has been a super career highlight for me.
02:07That's amazing.
02:08And Mike, of course, received an Emmy nomination for Shrinking this past season.
02:12So many Emmy nominations for the show in 2026.
02:14What does that nomination for Mike mean to you specifically?
02:18Look, all I care about in my career is awards.
02:21No, I'm joking.
02:23Who gives a hoot?
02:25But as much as I think awards are silly and fun, and it's a great excuse for me anyways to
02:31wander up to other shows that I love
02:33and act cool and be like, yo, what's up?
02:34I love The Pit.
02:36But this is probably the first time I cared in a second because if Harrison and Mike were to win,
02:43not because the awards matter, but the opportunity to see them speak,
02:48and every time either one of them talks about their career and what this community has meant to them,
02:53it means the world to me.
02:54So my fingers are crossed.
02:56I love that.
02:57And finally, we're asking everyone here today, what's something in Hollywood that's inspiring you right now?
03:03Yeah, all right.
03:04For me, it's an everyday thing, which is I understand that there's some bigger than life things in Hollywood
03:13that get understandably negative press or bad rap, but there's not one person in front of or behind the camera
03:21that wasn't mentored in by someone, and usually in a benevolent and somewhat selfless way.
03:29On Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis made all the writers we were interviewing say,
03:35who mentored you in?
03:36Who made you believe that you could actually write for a living?
03:39And a lot of my shows have that kind of component of mentorship.
03:43And I've got to tell you, as somebody that still is lucky enough to work in the business,
03:47I see it every day in every department, and that is kind of the human lifeblood that keeps this town
03:53rolling.
03:54So I like it.
03:55And finally, how excited are you for people to see the next season of Ted Lasso?
03:59Actually, Hannah, Juno, and Jason are on our cover today.
04:04I know.
04:04It's so cool.
04:05I can't wait.
04:06You know, that whole team, the writing staff, Jason, Brendan, Brett, you know, Jack Burdett and stuff,
04:17they really killed it.
04:19And look, I'm excited to see it both as someone that's involved in the show, but also as a fan,
04:24I can't wait.
04:25I'm just excited to have it back.
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