There are two moments in the second season of Shrinking that surprised me. Now, this being a Bill Lawrence series, it shouldn’t. In his series, like Scrubs, Ted Lasso, and even Bad Monkey (we will politely omit the ABC comedy Cougar Town), the main characters are full of heart and humor and are always brimming with resilience. However, the main trait is unwavering empathy.
So, it shouldn’t be a surprise when a supporting character shows an infamous one, the kind of compassion that many would never show in real life. However, when star Jason Segel’s Jimmy Laird goes cold, even cruel, for the first time, that is understandable. Yet, it highlights the realities of people who dedicate their lives to outward and sometimes overwrought positivity.
That means the second season of Shrinking has grown more complex.
At the turn of the century, television entered two decades dominated by the antihero. From Walter White to Tony Soprano, Don Draper, and Omar Little, television has been redefined by what it means to be wrong. Bill Lawrence has elevated television with well-rounded characters eager to do good. However, they never sacrifice what it means to be human.
Yes, series like Shrinking shouldn’t work. However, the stars and writers lift the show into something beautiful, humorous, and poignant.
The series picks up where Jimmy (Segel) and Gabby (an excellent Jessica Williams), as REO Speedwagon would, couldn’t fight their feelings anymore and slept together. However, his daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell), still sleeps in his room because of his nightmares. Additionally, his patient Grace (SNL’s Heidi Gardner) is in jail for pushing her boyfriend off a cliff. Meanwhile, Sean (Luke Tennie) still cannot control his triggers with anger management.
However, the group is about to take an even darker turn. Someone unexpected is about to enter their lives: Emmy-winner Brett Goldstein, who plays the man responsible for the Laird family’s predicament. Goldstein delivers a fantastic guest arc, bringing several characters together in ways we haven’t seen before. Christa Miller and Ted McGinley return as Liz and Derek, Jimmy’s nosy but well-intentioned next-door neighbors.
Initially, one of my main complaints about Apple TV+’s Shrinking was that therapists have a strict code of ethics. The fact that the main character keeps tripping into issues for two years because he has no boundaries is troubling. Yet, like in the pilot and at times this season, karma does not shy away from Segel’s Jimmy screw-ups that end up hurting himself and his patients.
The type of endearing humility Segel has brought to his characters for decades—from Freaks and Geeks to Forgetting Sarah Marshall to The End of Tour—makes the oversized actor perfect for the role. This also brings out plenty of chemistry with Harrison Ford. The legendary Hollywood icon whose weathered curmudgeon persona is loaded with comic relief, and the quips come fast and often.
Ford is excellent here. It’s still shocking that he wasn’t nominated for Best Supporting Actor at last year’s Emmys, but that should change this year. As the steady rock of the series, he consistently shows a knack for adding comic relief while being the solemn figure everyone turns to in times of crisis. Ford truly delivers a wonderful performance.
Then we have Jason Segel, who highlights how even trained and licensed professionals can suffer from mental health disorders. A little-known fact is that many people who work in the mental health field have a history of suffering from some ailment or addiction. (Remember how Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier was a few miles from the north of being not precisely stable?) While Segel excels as the funny, sad-sack character, his performance here has real nuance.
This brings me to the scene I mentioned at the beginning of my review — there’s an unexpected pathos in his role, with a level of emotional complexity you won’t see coming.
Therapy is a collaborative process, which essentially is what Shrinking is about. Created by Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel, and Brett Goldstein, their series is about revolving and evolving community support systems. Yes, this is like the lighter side version of a show like In Treatment, but that doesn’t mean the series is less enjoyable and effective.
However, Shrinking wears masks of situational and some shades of slapstick, such as a beard, for something slightly more profound. A mix of human emotions comes to the almost eclectic screen, which behavior is more than not. The writers can apply a contextual variable that is not easy to execute. A single episode can bring joy, frustration, sadness, hope, fear, anger, and full of melancholy.
Shrinking may be cheesy, but that is nothing but feigning indifference. We can use more series like it and welcome them with open arms.
The new season of Shrinking will be available to stream exclusively on Apple TV+ on October 16, 2024.
I am a film and television critic and a proud member of the Las Vegas Film Critic Society, Critics Choice Association, and a 🍅 Rotten Tomatoes/Tomato meter approved. However, I still put on my pants one leg at a time, and that’s when I often stumble over. When I’m not writing about movies, I patiently wait for the next Pearl Jam album and pass the time by scratching my wife’s back on Sunday afternoons while she watches endless reruns of California Dreams. I was proclaimed the smartest reviewer alive by actor Jason Isaacs, but I chose to ignore his obvious sarcasm. You can also find my work on InSession Film, Ready Steady Cut, Hidden Remote, Music City Drive-In, Nerd Alert, and Film Focus Online.
