Although Jessica Williams had some sort of imposter syndrome when she returned for season 2 of Shrinkshe quickly found her feet again.

After her first Emmy nomination for playing therapist Gaby in Season 1, the actress admits to Deadline that she was “stressed” about returning to work on the Apple TV+ comedy-drama following the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes , fearing her previous success in the role. was just ‘a fluke’.

“On the day of the Emmy nomination, we went on strike at midnight that night,” she recalls. “So it was quite interesting to be so excited and be able to post about it and then go on strike for about four or five hours – I don’t even know how long it was because it was dark. It was dark, but you know, I was picking. So it felt like it was happening, but then it didn’t happen because there was no end in sight for a while during the strike. So I had to sit with it for a while and then I kind of forgot about it.

Williams continued, “And then we did the Emmys in January and because there was so much time, I didn’t know if I remembered Gaby. We were literally going to start filming within a few weeks of the strike starting, we were meant to be filming. And so I was very stressed for season 2, because I was like, ‘Do I recognize her? Can I do it? Will I be able to hit the notes? Was it a fluke? Like I’m nominated for this Emmy. Can I do it again? I have stated all this unfairly – it is my cycle of perfection and expectations towards myself. And so it was so fun to be able to walk on set and say, ‘Oh, the reason why this character works for me is because I have the ability to love things and figure it out with the comedy.’ There is freedom. And so it felt good to remember that and to have this character where I actually knew her bones very well. So I had a lot of fun, but I was really nervous.

Created by Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein, Shrink follows grieving therapist Jimmy (Segel), who starts breaking the rules and telling his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making massive, tumultuous changes in people’s lives, including his own.

After Jimmy hooked up with his old friend and fellow therapist Gaby in Season 1, the pair continued their messy dynamic at the start of Season 2, which Williams said was “a lot of fun” to build with Segel.

“Before I signed on for the show, they always vaguely knew that Gaby and Jimmy were going to have some sort of messy relationship and situation,” she explained. “And so that was a lot of fun, because they hired me based on my personality and the chemistry I already had with Jason. So that always happened. And I enjoy working with him. He is one of my favorite actors to ever work with.”

Season 2 also introduces a new love interest for Gaby, who Williams “can’t wait” for fans to see. “It’s two peas in a pod. It’s really sweet stuff,” she teased.

Williams noted that Dr. Harrison Ford’s character Paul Rhoades serves as a “surrogate father figure” for Gaby and Jimmy, and Williams saw “the most phenomenal acting” yet from the Oscar nominee this season, which ends on a “truly emotional” note.

And although Gaby and Paul shared an adorable carpool karaoke moment during Sugar Ray’s “Every Morning” in Season 1, Williams admitted she was “disgusted” that her character cut off another musical moment in the Season 2 premiere.

“I didn’t actually write that,” she noted. “You could tell Bill Lawrence when you talk to him. Tell him I was disappointed too. I was really disappointed about that.”

Luckily, she teased plenty more “fun” moments with Ford this season.

“Oh yeah, they’re all nice. My favorite scene is when Harrison and Wendie Malick do a scene together – Wendie Malick plays Julie and Gabby has an obsession with Julie and Paul and would probably love to get into trouble with them. If they ask, she would love it. But that’s my favorite thing to do with Harrison. It basically writes itself. Oh, it’s great.”