I know someone who will not watch Shrinking. Says enough with all these stories about privileged people with no money worries living the good life in Pasadena.
I get it. The series, which concludes for its third season April 8 on AppleTV, does revolve around a trio of therapists who dish tidy resolutions at a trendy psychology boutique. None of them appear to be suffering, except psychologically, once or twice an episode.
Here is why I watch: it is a good hang. These actors, including Jason Segel (the glue in the central role of shattered shrink Jimmy Laird), Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Lukita Maxwell, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Ted McGinley and Harrison Ford, are the top TV ensemble of the moment.
They all seem to – and this is a wildly speculative assumption from an old TV critic – really like each other and like working together. Go with me on this.
Shrinking is a Bill Lawrence show. The veteran executive producer and showrunner, also Miller’s husband, has been behind everything from Spin City to Scrubs to Cougar Town to Ted Lasso to the new Stev Carell series Rooster. Lawrence has a knack for casting shows with likeable cast members, creating a good hang.
Years ago on a Television Critics Association set visit in Los Angeles to Cougar Town the main player there, Courteney Cox, dropped a phrase I’d never heard before. She said Lawrence has a “no assholes policy.” It was something showrunners working their third or fourth series were wise to impose, she said.
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When a few days later I told this to Cox’s former costar Matt LeBlanc (then promoting Episodes), he joked that she was the asshole on Friends. Hilarious.
Nevertheless, this policy seems to shine through on Shrinking as it did on Lasso. It helps that the mayor of TV likeability, McGinley, keeps things super chill. McGinley used to be seen as the “Jumping the Shark” guy from show killer moments on Happy Days and Married…with Children. On Shrinking he is the cheery, laid back neighbour we all want to live next door.
This really works whenever things veer in a too huggy direction, which happens on Shrinking.
Ford, of course, also pushes past the hugs. The last movie star had much to do with Season Three, when his senior shrink character (based somewhat on Miller’s own doctor, as she revealed on Ted Danson’s “Where Everyone Knows Your Name” podcast) is forced to honestly face his Parkinson’s and reluctantly retire from the practice he founded. Ford’s scenes opposite guest star Michael J. Fox this season were viral moments; two iconic stars putting on a clinic.
As the eleventh and final Season Three episode begins, Ford’s Dr. Paul Rhoades has already packed up and left for Connecticut, his doctor wife (Wendie Malick) in tow. Everybody seems to be moving on; Tennie’s character Sean has finally ditched the poolhouse for a fresh start fixing up a place owned by Derek (McGinley). Alice (Maxwell) is off to college. Brian (Ure) has a baby daughter to raise. Gaby (Jessica) is poised to take over Paul’s clinic. Liz (Miller) has a new mom-to-be to meddle with. Derek remains chill.
That leaves Jimmy (co-creator and executive producer Segel), alone again. He has been staggering, really, since the loss of his wife explained at the very start of the series.
Jimmy lost it on episode ten. His pent up anger at his own dad (guest star Jeff Daniels) led to a shouting match with surrogate dad Paul. Their finish line fallout is the big unresolved uh oh behind this season-ender.
Is there any doubt it gets resolved, and in a very winning way? Watch and find out, but besides the great cast, the 35 minutes is also a great hang for another hallmark of Shrinking: writing. Lawrence deserves praise there as well, along with Segel and Brett Goldstein. The mix of sharp jokes and penetrating insights is at a very winning level.
Paul dispenses one last nugget of fatherly wisdom that maps out how to navigate life — not just for Paul’s benefit but for all of us watching. That’s the thing about Shrinking; it doesn’t shrink from sneaking wisdom between scenes of snark and playfulness. Life can be messy and unresolved, no matter how comfortable things appear. Sure, Shrinking is about collecting rocks and barbecues, but it is also about mental health and Parkinson’s.
Pitched as a three-seasons-and-out endeavour, the good news for fans is that a fourth season and maybe more is happening. Ford confirmed at a Paley Centre gathering that he he’s never had a better time on a set, and that he will be back for more if it. As they might have said on Cougar Town, I’ll drink to that.
