@nicolemichele5 Published Feb. 18, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET Where to Stream: Shrinking Powered by Reelgood More On: Shrinking Ted McGinley Says Working With Michael J. Fox on ‘Shrinking’ Was “Incredibly Special” ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, Episode 3 Welcomes The “Iconic” Jeff Daniels As Jimmy’s Dad Randy: “He’s Just Incredible” Who Plays Marisol on ‘Shrinking’? Meet Isabella Gomez Who Plays Maya On ‘Shrinking’? Meet Sherry Cola I know it’s only February, but I don’t need to see what the other 10 months of the year have in store to know that Shrinking Season 3, Episode 4 features some of the funniest television scenes of 2026.
Every episode of Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel’s acclaimed Apple TV comedy gifts viewers a delightful mix of laughter and tears. But “The Field” made me laugh so hard that I cried tears of joy. How? Our dearly beloved Derek got high. And Ted McGinley’s Stoned Derek performance was absolutely impeccable.
After moving his son Matthew (Markus Silbiger) into his new apartment, Derek secretly snagged (and devoured) a whole bag of Matthew’s gummies on his way out the door — unaware that they were weed gummies and not just plain old candy.
The result? Derek anxiously walking down the sidewalk, telling an unclothed mannequin “they got your dick,” and telling a stranger “I’m just a little bit dying” mid-giggle fit. As Derek’s lifted into the ambulance, he leaves a message for his wife Liz (Christa Miller) and tells her he’s dying, but she has his blessing to find love again in “like eight years.” He rings her ex Mac (Josh Hopkins) and says, “Well played, fucker. You outlived me. But you’re still never gonna get her.” He phones Brian (Michael Urie) and warns him to protect his baby from the poison that got him.
When Derek — convinced he’s dead — gets settled in a hospital bed he frustratedly announces, “Heaven smells like ass.” He cracks a Full House joke. He makes faces. He giggles some more. And he naturally asks, “Did they ever catch the guy who took that man’s dick?” Derek was already one of Shrinking‘s most hilarious, lovable characters, but Episode 4 proved that McGinley is a master of physical comedy who isn’t afraid to let loose for the sake of selling a scene — no matter how silly. And this wasn’t even a farfetched storyline, because it’s take straight from Lawrence’s life.
When chatting with DECIDER about all things Season 3, McGinley revealed the secret to perfectly playing high Derek and spoke about honoring Lawrence’s real-life experience.
“This was, I think, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to play as an actor, honestly. Because Bill Lawrence, that’s his actual story, and I had a responsibility to try to live up to Bill’s story, how he saw it, and then how I was going to interpret it,” McGinley explained. “The tricky part is to not play it. It’s so complicated to play all those things and yet not play them. And then they compress them into this teeny bit of time…so it was extremely difficult.”
View this post on Instagram While it may look like Derek’s having the time of his life, McGinley was working hard, and genuinely concerned about the quality of his performance. “I asked every day for about three months after that, ‘Was that OK? Have you seen it yet?’ It was like they left me hanging forever!”
Rest assured, sweet Ted McGinley, the performance was more than OK. I was just a little bit dying from laughing so hard.
Want more Derek? (Of course you do! Who wouldn’t?!) Be sure to read Decider’s full Season 2 interview with McGinley to hear him dive deeper into this iconic role, all the Derek love, and Lawrence’s influence on his character. Stay tuned for more Shrinking Season 3 coverage from Decider.
New episodes of Shrinking Season 3 premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV.
