By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“Being a part of the show has essentially changed my life forever.”
These are the words of actor Lukita Maxwell on her role as “Alice” in Apple TV’s “Shrinking.” The show will begin its third season on Jan. 28. “I am so grateful to have been brought on to this project and to have been chosen to be the keeper of this character for this number of years,” Maxwell said.
Lukita Maxwell as “Alice,” alongside Jason Segal as her dad, “Jimmy.” (Image courtesy of Apple TV)
As the name suggests, “Shrinking” is, to put it briefly, about mental health therapy and the lives of several mental health therapists who work together in the same office. At their head is veteran actor, Harrison Ford, as the boss, “Paul.” The main character of the show is the quirky and unconventional “Jimmy,” who is played by Jason Segel. Maxwell plays Jimmy’s teenaged daughter. Jimmy and Alice are struggling with the loss of Alice’s mom, “Tia” (Asian American actor, Lilan Bowden, known for having voiced “Namaari” in “Raya and the Last Dragon”).
Lukita Maxwell in her role as “Alice,” alongside Harrison Ford in his role as “Paul,” in Apple TV’s “Shrinking.” (Image courtesy of Apple TV.)
Maxwell was born in Jakarta, Indonesia. Her mother is Chinese Indonesian and her father is from Utah, which is where Maxwell lived for some time and was homeschooled before getting into acting. Maxwell jumped quickly from her first major acting role as “Delilah” in “Generation” to this prominent role in “Shrinking.” Some may recognize her from her role as the daughter in the 2024 movie “Afraid.” Now, she deserves attention for her remarkable performance in “Shrinking”as Alice—a young girl who must fight her own demons stemming from her mom’s death, while also dealing with her father’s unpredictable emotional turmoil.
The show follows everyone’s ups and downs and tackles many issues related to relationships, mental health, and grieving. In season three, the cast will be joined by Sheri Cola, who plays a new and very reluctant client at the therapy office, as well as the beloved Michael J. Fox, who shares something in common with Paul—both are affected by Parkinson’s disease. The show has won multiple awards, including “Best Television Series – Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.” The show is not afraid to address uncomfortable realities related to mental and physical disease, parenting, or PTSD.
The show is also realistic about what it means to go to therapy. It doesn’t mean you’re “fixed” overnight, and it doesn’t mean your therapists don’t have their own inner battles. Everyone is a work in progress—and that’s okay. With her dad struggling to stay together—and because let’s face it, most kids don’t want to talk to their parents—Alice relies on Paul as a sort of pseudo-grandfather and counselor. They don’t meet in his office but rather on a park bench. There, Alice can commiserate about her dad and the other complications of her life. It’s a special and loving friendship, or mentorship, that places Maxwell in close proximity to Ford on a regular basis.
“He’s a legend. I love him,” Maxwell told the Northwest Asian Weekly, and assured us that, in season three, Ford “will continue to play these deeply moving, deeply funny performances.”
The 24-year-old Maxwell does an extraordinary job of playing a character some years younger than herself. She perfectly represents teenage angst that is amplified by the trauma of losing a parent. Alice is always searching for something, or someone, to ground herself, not in a pathetic way, but in a natural and mostly unconscious way. It could even be her own sense of self. As Alice, Maxwell always wears a frowny, weepy expression that is very charming and encapsulates the constant conflict inside of her between anger, depression, hope, and happiness. As Jimmy’s daughter, she has had to deal with quite a lot—from her dad bringing home ladies of the night during the height of his depression, to his very unorthodox therapy techniques which mean that a series of strays comes into their lives. Somehow, due to her own strength of character and fundamental generosity and her capacity for forgiveness, Alice perseveres. In season three, she is on the brink of going to college.
“I’ve never done multiple seasons of anything before,” Maxwell said. She enjoys the chance to revisit the role of Alice with each new script, each new season.
“I’ve gotten to play this …wonderful character arc that they’ve written for ‘Alice,’ over the last couple years now, which is crazy.” Although Alice doesn’t attend any formal mental health therapy, so far, it’s a given in the show that most people can benefit from doing so.
Given that discussing mental health can be stigmatized in Asian culture, the Northwest Asian Weekly sought Maxwell’s thoughts on the matter.
She said “Shrinking” hasn’t changed her view of mental health or therapy —she was already a proponent of both. She especially likes the way that “Shrinking” normalizes talking about one’s mental health, and she has had more than one therapist come up to her and tell her how much they appreciate the show.
“I can’t wait for everybody to see season three,” Maxwell said.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.