Shrinking Cast Tease Exactly How a Ted Lasso Crossover Could Work
With Shrinking Season 3 out, stars Lukita Maxwell and Michael Urie tease how a collision with Ted Lasso could actually work—think pitch-side therapy, Richmond drop-ins, and a feel-good crossover that writes itself.
Shrinking just dropped Season 3, and two of its stars are already fantasy-booking a crossover with Apple TV+ neighbor Ted Lasso. It sounds wild on paper, but given the shared creative DNA and streamer, it actually kind of tracks.
The crossover pitch: send Alice to AFC Richmond
In chats with Comic Book Resources, Michael Urie (yep, the Ugly Betty favorite who plays Brian on Shrinking) and Lukita Maxwell (Alice Laird, Jimmy Laird's daughter) were asked who could jump shows the cleanest. They both landed on the same answer: Alice.
"I think Lukita Maxwell's character certainly could play football — that's kind of the easiest one. Alice goes and plays for AFC Richmond or whatever," Urie said, noting he's thought about it because the shows share some creators and live on the same streamer.
Urie also joked about what would happen if his character crossed the pond and ended up working with or for Hannah Waddingham's Rebecca: sparks flying, in his words. Meanwhile, in a separate CBR interview, Maxwell backed the Alice-to-Richmond idea without hesitation. She plays soccer, it's already baked into the character, and if the arc starts feeling a little Jamie Tartt-ish? Maxwell's into it. And yes, she loves London.
Why Alice is the obvious pick
- Alice already plays soccer on Shrinking, and in Season 3 she's getting ready to head to college in Connecticut to pursue the sport competitively.
- Urie's logic is simple: she can slot into AFC Richmond's world the easiest, on-field and off.
- Maxwell agrees: if someone from Shrinking hops to Ted Lasso, it's Alice. Get her on that pitch.
- Urie also floated a fun alt: Brian mixing it up with Rebecca at Richmond — his words: "sparks would fly."
- Both actors made the comments to CBR's Grae Drake, and Urie even pointed out the shows share some of the same creators and, obviously, Apple TV+ ties.
Where things stand now
Shrinking is currently rolling out Season 3. Ted Lasso, for its part, is expected to launch a new storyline with an upcoming Season 4 that is currently slated for summer 2026. No official crossover is happening — this is just the cast spitballing — but if Alice ends up wearing Richmond blue someday, nobody can say they didn't call it early.