Shrinking centers around therapist Jimmy Laird. As he tries to get his life back on track after the death of his wife, he decides to stop bottling up his emotions around his patients and start telling them all exactly what he thinks. Hilarity ensues.
The "secret sauce" of Shrinking is that there's a good deal more going on in it than any simple description like that can encapsulate. It's part workplace sitcom, as Jimmy works with two other therapists in a practice (each with problems of their own). It's part family/neighborhood sitcom, as Jimmy trades barbs with a nosy neighbor and tries to bond with his teenage daughter. It's part friendship sitcom, as Jimmy reconnects with a close friend he pushed away in his grief. It's largely and specifically about personal growth and therapy, as one of Jimmy's patients is a main character (and many others recur).
Like Ted Lasso, Shrinking always aims first and foremost to be funny... but would never do an episode where it doesn't get serious at select moments. Characters crack wise with each other, but are allowed to process real emotional issues: death and grief, a serious health condition, divorce, anxiety about retirement, teenage love, PTSD, and more. No lie, there are moments of especially good episodes that will bring tears to your eyes, even as it makes you laugh out loud before and after.
Okay, there's one more "secret sauce" to Shrinking, and that's its exceptional cast. It's led by Jason Segel -- and though he's perfectly fine, he's also probably the least compelling reason to watch the show. (Sorry, How I Met Your Mother fans). Jimmy's co-workers are Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams; Ford hasn't let himself be this vulnerable in ages (though he's still hilariously prickly), and Williams is a comedy assassin who delivers some of the best lines of every episode. Michael Urie plays best friend Brian, who somehow manages to make "cloyingly happy" not be an annoyance on the show. And Christa Miller (my personal favorite from Cougar Town) is neighbor Liz, whose drier than dry delivery always makes me smile. (And these are just the names/faces you're likely to recognize. Newer actors in the main cast are just as strong, and the bench of recurring characters runs deep.)
About the only negative thing I can say about Shrinking is that it didn't hit a home run in its first at bat. It took me a couple of episodes to realize that I did indeed like the not-always likeable characters, that the show was truly going to be funny more than mopey, and that the story really was going somewhere interesting. (Though I don't think that last thing is by any means a requirement for a sitcom.) By the end of the season, though, I was all in; I wanted to finish up Shrinking completely before beginning the new season of Ted Lasso (which did overlap it a bit).
I'd give the first season of Shrinking an A-. If you liked Scrubs, Cougar Town, or Ted Lasso, then this is a no-brainer: you are going to like Shrinking. If any other part of this feels like a hook (you want to see Harrison Ford in a comedy; you used to love Jessica Williams on The Daily Show), you are going to like Shrinking. Basic odds are, you are going to like Shrinking.
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