Christa Miller Shares the 'Unusual' Thing That Takes Place on the Shrinking Set: 'I've Never Had That in a Job' (Exclusive)

Alex RossSat, June 20, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Christa Miller for PEOPLE on May 31, 2026Credit: Andrew Eccles -

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, Christa Miller delves into her role as Liz Bishop on Apple TV's acclaimed series Shrinking

Miller also serves as a music supervisor for the show, which was co-created by her husband, Bill Lawrence

The first three seasons of Shrinking are available to stream now on Apple TV

Christa Miller strolls into an outdoor bungalow in Los Angeles and sets down her portable speaker on the table.

"1901" by French indie pop band Phoenix fills the yard, as Miller, 62, settles in for a photoshoot with her TV icon aunt, Susan Saint James, 79, for this week's issue of PEOPLE. Miller's playing double duty with her musical talents, just like she does on Shrinking.

On the Apple TV dramedy (co-created by her husband, TV producer Bill Lawrence), she stars as lovable-but-nosy neighbor Liz Bishop and acts as music supervisor. She also curates the music for Lawrence's other hits, Bad Monkey, Ted Lasso and Rooster.

For Miller, music was always something she had a deep connection to. "I was exposed to cool music early on," she says thanks to her mom, supermodel mother Bonnie Trompeter and her "cool" friends. "I always was doing mix tapes and listening to music. Walking home from school in New York City, I would always listen to music and then think of movies and think of me in them and think of how the soundtrack would be."

She eventually DJ'd a bit in N.Y.C. because she was "always the ones bringing the music to the party."

Bill Lawrence and Christa Miller seen at "Shrinking" FYC Event At The Think Apple TV+ Emmy House on May 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaCredit: Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty

Years later, when Lawrence "wasn't happy with the music on Scrubs" in 2001, she asked him, "May I take a stab at it?"

Miller says her husband initially told her no, but he changed his mind and gave her a shot. "I put [the music] in and he goes, 'Now you're the music supervisor.' So I was the uncredited music supervisor for Scrubs, then Cougar Town."

These days, while she says she drives her husband "crazy" with all of her new music playlists for his various shows, the two actually make a great working pair. She assures viewers though, her Shrinking character isn't a one-for-one comparison of their real life dynamic.

"I think people think I hang out with Bill and then he writes about our life. Bill is more like Liz than I am like Liz," Miller says with a laugh.

Ted McGinley and Christa Miller in 'Shrinking,' now streaming on Apple TVCredit: Kevin Estrada/Apple TV

Despite working behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera, she says she loves the show "like a fan."

"I'm so attached to it," she tells PEOPLE of Shrinking, which also stars Jason Segel and Harrison Ford. "Even though I see where the needle drops go in, I've seen rough cuts, I really try not to watch much of it except where the music is going in. And I like to watch it when it comes out because there are scenes I'm not in."

In addition to Miller, Siegel and Ford, the cast of Shrinking also includes Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Ted McGinley, Lukita Maxwell and Luke Tennie.

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Miller says Ford is her real-life, next-door neighbor, and prior to Shrinking, she'd known his wife, Calista Flockhart, better than she knew him.

"I didn't really even really put this together, [but] he said he'd only done movies. So in a movie, you read the movie and you might have notes with the writer and talk about that, but you know what the movie's going to be. There's no surprises," Miller explains. "And on our show, you don't know what's going to happen week to week. And [Harrison] said it's been the most fun thing to do. He always says it's the most fun job he has ever had."

Miller says that both she and Ford know how much the show resonates with audiences, too.

"They don't need to have a selfie. They don't need to have a lightsaber signed. They want to talk about how much they love the show," she says of fans.

Christa Miller and Harrison Ford in "Shrinking," now streaming on Apple TVCredit: Beth Dubber/Apple TV+

And those fans are in luck: the cast is currently in the midst of production for the show's fourth season.

"It's like shooting a movie, and we shoot in order of the season," she says. "When I drive onto the Warner Brothers lot, it's like my heart cracks open and I'm so lucky that I get to be with a cast and crew and writers and [in a] situation where I can do that and it's safe."

The cast also follows an "unusual" unwritten rule during filming: everyone shows up to rehearsals with their lines already memorized.

"There are no scripts. Everyone comes in for the rehearsal, and we always say, 'Should have shot it!' I think that's why people comment to me all the time, they ask me if I'm improving. I'm like, 'No, I just know my lines. So I'm just doing them in kooky ways that sometimes make it on screen,'" she says. "I've never had that in a job."

Susan Saint James and Christa Miller for PEOPLE on May 31, 2026Credit: Andrew Eccles

Miller is just following in her family's footsteps. In her PEOPLE interview, she was joined by aunt, fellow TV star, Susan Saint James, and they revealed the surprising story about their family connection. Miller wasn't told about her biological dad (Susan's brother) until she was 11 years old.

These days, they're extremely close and Susan, who retired from acting after her '80s sitcom hit, Kate & Allie, and loves cheering on Miller.

"I'm just so proud," says Susan. "I always could tell Christa would be an actress. Shrinking is, to me, one of a kind. I'm waiting for them to give you the Emmy. You've earned it, Christa."

The first three seasons of Shrinking are available to stream now on Apple TV.

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