The comedy-drama from the creators of Ted Lasso continues to be a feel good series that improves on the first season.
Plot: Follows a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives … including his own.
Review: When the first season of Shrinking premiered in January 2023, I called it one of the year’s best shows. Audiences felt the same as the follow-up series from Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence alongside Brett Goldstein and Jason Segel. It was warmly received for its balance of humor and emotional storylines. Almost two years later, the sophomore run of Shrinking is finally debuting on AppleTV+ with the main ensemble back for more psychological shenanigans. Segel and Harrison Ford continue to shine alongside Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Michael Urie, Ted McGinley, Lukita Maxwell, and Luke Tennie, with some new faces joining the cast. Shrinking continues to shine a light on the harder aspects of love, grief, illness, and relationships while doing so with a positive bend that echoes the inspirational and aspirational tone of Ted Lasso.
Season one of Shrinking found therapist Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) surfacing from a drug and alcohol-fueled bender after the death of his wife. Jimmy discovered that when he shifted his perspective from safe therapeutic practices and took risks, it worked to help his patients while also giving him the boost he needed to function as a doctor, friend, and parent to teen daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell). Despite warnings from his mentor, Paul Rhoades (Harrison Ford), Jimmy took on Sean (Luke Tennie), a war vet suffering from PTSD. Not only did Sean move into Jimmy’s home, but he became a family friend. As the season progressed, Jimmy began a sexual relationship with his wife’s best friend and fellow therapist, Gaby (Jessica Williams), while re-engaging with his best friend Brian (Michael Urie). Jimmy also got closer to his nosy but loving neighbor, Liz (Christa Miller). At the end of the first season, Jimmy dealt with his patient Grace (Heidi Gardner), almost murdering her husband based on his advice.
Season two picks right up from where the first left off. Gaby is struggling with her relationship with Jimmy, while Alice is worried her father may backslide into his addictive behavior. Paul is doing well with his girlfriend, Julie (Wendy Malick), and Sean is successfully running his own food truck. Jimmy is finding it hard to deal with Grace’s actions last season, but he is pushing through until the return of the drunk driver responsible for Tia’s death. This season shows new relationships forged, especially the stronger friendship between Gaby and Liz, which affords Jessica Williams and Christa Miller a lot of solid back and forth. Ted McGinley also gets a larger role this season, while Michael Urie is charming as always as Brian and Charlie pursue adopting a baby. We get more time with Jimmy’s more unique patients, including Wally (Kimberly Condict). All of the storylines move well through the season, changing a lot across the twelve-episode run.
The main additions to this season are Damon Wayans Jr and Brett Goldstein. I won’t spoil who either actor plays in the series, but they fit well into the dynamic of this ensemble. As co-creator of the series, Goldstein is very different than his Ted Lasso character Roy Kent. Some may expect him to be gruff and vulgar, but this character shows Goldstein’s range as an actor. Damon Wayans Jr is equally good at playing for laughs but handles the dramatic side of this series as well. The central cast continues to gel as an ensemble, especially Lukita Maxwell and Luke Tennie as the younger cast members, but this is still a solid showcase for both Jason Segel and Harrison Ford. Ford is more natural and likable as the gruff Paul than he has been in any big screen role in his career. The mentor/parental bond between Paul and Jimmy really drives this series forward, with the interplay between any combination of characters working seamlessly. This is a testament to the talented actors as much as the writers.
Jason Segel does not boast any writing credits this season; Bill Lawrence is credited as a co-writer on the finale, and Brett Goldstein on two episodes. Zack Bornstein, Kyra Brown, CJ Hoke, Sasha Garron, and Ashley Nicole Black join the writing team alongside all of the returning scribes from season one. At the same time, Zach Braff returns to direct episodes, continuing his relationship with Bill Lawrence from their Scrubs days. Randall Keenan Winston returns as director for the longer season as well. Everyone behind the scenes does solid work here. Shrinking continues to mine the positives and pitfalls of therapy, using the inspiration of psychiatrist Phil Stutz to lend realism to this story. There is so much going on in each half-hour episode that you will need a few minutes to unpack what develops for each character. I have never been more thankful to Apple for releasing episodes weekly than as a binge.
Shrinking continues to thrive as a comedy that is about feeling good as much as it is about just feeling. Emotions and mental health are not always easy topics to handle, and while Ted Lasso found a unique way to deliver positivity through the lens of sports and team camaraderie, Shrinking is a more direct look at the licensed mental health experts in our lives and how their own personal networks of friends and family can help them cope with their own ups and downs. Shrinking is once again one of the year’s best shows, thanks to Jason Segel and Harrison Ford fronting an ensemble that does not have a single weak spot. It is impossible not to like this show or these characters because they reflect our real lives, albeit much funnier.
The second season of Shrinking premieres on October 16th on AppleTV+.
