The more reserved demeanor of Harrison Ford’s Paul serves as a much-needed antidote to the over-the-top instincts of Jimmy (Jason Segel) and the other Shrinking characters. Photo: AppleTV+
Watching Shrinking is like hosting an energetic guest who exceeds their reception. At first, they’re fun to be around: they make amusing comments over a cup of coffee, their attitude is breezy, and their theme song features Ben Gibbard’s soothing vocal styles. They also brought Harrison Ford with them, and that’s clearly a huge bonus. But after a few hours of listening to them chatter endlessly about their own problems and the problems of other people that are definitely none of their business, you kind of need a break.
That’s the vibe of this new Apple TV+ series about a widowed therapist whose own mental health needs improving. Shrinking is a comedy about feelings – people coming to terms with their own and hurting others and talking about it non-stop. It’s tempting to compare this heart-on-sleeve ghost to a Cameron Crowe film, but it’s more accurate to say that Shrinking has the attitude of a Bill Lawrence television series, because that’s what it is. Lawrence, who brought Scrubs, Cougar Town and Ted Lasso to the big screen, co-created it with Lasso star Brett Goldstein and Shrinking star Jason Segel, whose role as Jimmy, the grieving, clumsy father of teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) , fits very well in his wheelhouse. Shrinking’s thematic focus on valuing human connections and acting outside of one’s comfort zone even has a lasso-like tenor; Jimmy, who is determined to be more present for his daughter and is rethinking his approach to helping his patients, hasn’t put a homemade sign with his personal motto over the front door of his office, but it’s easy to imagine that he will adds .
Like Ted Lasso, Shrinking is a series that openly wants to win over its audience. But his desire to be liked becomes aggressive after a few episodes. It’s possible that some of the show’s more grating tendencies — a absurdist portrayal of how therapy works, romantic connections developing from the deepest corners of left-field, dialogue that sounds a lot like it was written for a TV show rather than thinking about how people actually speak – may feel less overwhelming when viewed on the Apple TV+ schedule. Like most offerings on the platform, Shrinking will be available weekly after the first two episodes premiere on Friday. Taking it in more distant doses can make these deficiencies more easily tolerated. Perhaps.
It’s not as if shrinking is entirely without charm. Central to this charm is Ford, who has recently turned to television – he currently stars in the Paramount + Yellowstone prequel 1923 – making his first live-action, no-nonsense comedy since appearing in Anchorman 2 a decade ago. As Paul, he’s exactly what you’d expect from Ford: cranky and impatient, but engaging. (“Do you know what percentage of you is actually water?” asks Gaby of Jessica Williams, a therapist at the practice Jimmy and Paul work in. “I know what percentage of me doesn’t give a shit,” replies Paul .)
Paul’s more reserved demeanor serves as an amusing, much-needed antidote to the other characters’ over-the-top instincts, and Ford seems to enjoy every sarcastic line he gets to utter. There’s also some dramatic material for him to mine here; Paul struggles with a Parkinson’s diagnosis and how to share that reality with his semi-estranged daughter Meg (Lily Rabe). The scenes in which they grapple with his condition and old wounds in their relationship break through with Shrinking’s feel-good glow and exude authenticity. Ford also finds unexpected humor in the situation: when, after eating a high-dose edible, he explains that Meg is coming to visit and “takes care of me,” the horrified grin on his face as he says those words deserves its own Emmy -Nomination.
While Ford is a standout, the entire cast is strong, so strong that the series seems increasingly determined to give everyone equal time. That makes Shrinking a bit unwieldy as it attempts to reconcile its A-Story – Jimmy’s attempt to reconnect with Alice and deal more effectively with his patients, particularly Sean (Luke Tennie), an Army veteran who suffers from PTSD Heaps of other B and C stories including Gaby’s relationship with her ex-husband, the dynamic between Jimmy’s best friend Brian (Michael Urie) and his partner, and the complicated connection between Jimmy and his neighbor Liz (Christa Miller), who joined Parents Alice when Jimmy checked out after his wife’s death. There’s a lot to cover, and trying to do it all, especially in episodes that only last half an hour, dilutes the emotional impact a single storyline could have. Shrinking also insists on promoting the idea that all of these people are close friends, even though that doesn’t make conceptual sense. But forcing literally everyone in Jimmy’s circle to hang out is just what a well-meaning, affection-thirsty friend could do.
In the first episode, when Jimmy hits a wall in his office and gets tired of listening to his patients complaining about the same issues over and over again, Paul diagnoses the problem: It’s compassion fatigue, he explains, and that’s what it is Danger in Watching Shrinking. Its characters may be quick-witted, entertaining, and portrayed by skillful actors, but listening to them blast about the same personal issues becomes unnerving over the course of ten episodes. Jimmy tries to combat his compassion fatigue by calling his patients on their BS, which unfortunately we can’t do with people who only exist within the confines of our screens. But we can take Paul’s lead and gauge exactly what percentage of us don’t give a shit about continuing to watch shrinking.
The first two episodes of Shrinking will premiere on Apple TV+ on January 27, followed by a new episode each week on Fridays.