Debuts today with the first two episodes Shrinking, a new series that bears the signature of the authors of Ted Lasso and shows the tender and brutally honest side of psychotherapy.
In the new series of Apple TV+ Shrinking the already award-winning authors of Ted Lasso Brett Goldstein e Bill Lawrence they do what they are best at: they show the male vulnerability and insecurities and, in the meantime, turn the spotlight on a topic as slippery as necessary as mental health. But they do it lightly and with a pair of actors with really formidable chemistry: Jason Segel (also co-creator of the series) e Harrison Fordhere in his first regular role in a TV series (we will soon see him also in the spin-off of Yellowstone, 1923). The dramedy, composed by 10 episodes, debuts today in streaming with the first two episodes and will continue every Friday with a new episode. What will you love about Shrinking? We anticipate it to you who have seen it in preview.
The plot of Shrinking, between drama and comedy
Shrinking centers on Jimmy Laird (Segel), a grieving therapist who, a year after his wife died in a tragic accident, still hasn’t recovered. At first we find him confused, between drugs and questionable female companies, while he is unable to establish a relationship with his seventeen-year-old daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) with the caring but also overbearing neighbor Liz (Christa Miller). Relationships are also difficult with her fellow therapists Gaby (Jessica Williams), who is about to divorce her husband, and Paul (Harrison Ford), an expert doctor who however has recently discovered that he suffers from Parkinson’s disease. Complete the picture the best friend Brian (Michael Urie), a handyman lawyer whom Jimmy dismissed after his wife’s death. Things change for Jimmy when one day, instead of just nodding as his patients keep making disastrous decisions for their lives, he decides to be honest and tell them exactly what he thinks, even if it means going against professional ethics and all the rules of his work. All of which leads him to form an unusual relationship with a new patient, Sean (Luke Tenny), a 22-year-old military man struggling with severe PTSD that made him violent. Thus begins a journey of discovery and rebirth, for Jimmy and for the others.
It is not immediately easy to connect with the protagonists of Shrinking but, after meeting them, they will surprise you with their irony and tenderness. This series exposes not only the insecurities of patients, but also those of therapists making us reflect on topics such as bereavement, mental health, parent-child relationship. And, at the same time, it’s light and makes us laugh even when circumstances wouldn’t allow it. Herein lies the skill of the authors: make this story travel on a hybrid terrain, which is neither comedy nor drama but dramedyin the most literal sense of the word. An operation that Bill Lawrence, also creator of a cult series such as Scrubsit works very well.
Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, a formidable couple
The core of the series is the relationship that develops between Jimmy and Paul, who complement each other. One bungler and dreamer, methodical and down to earth (but not without a flicker of madness) the other. Both, as we discover throughout the episodes, struggle to reconnect with their respective daughters and, in doing so, influence each other. Segel, a very physical actor, is always brilliant as a vulnerable and sometimes childish character (His Jimmy has a lot in common with Marshall’s How I Met Your Mother and the Peter of the film Don’t dump me). Ford sports a unexpected comedic talentenjoys and enjoys and is adorable in the role of this surly and dismissive but with a heart of gold therapist.
If you have loved Ted Lasso you definitely can’t get lost Shrinking. Not the series of the year, but definitely a series that will make you feel good – feel-good say the Americans – giving you the quality entertainment of which Apple TV+ is the master.
