Content warning: This review mentions suicide and domestic abuse.
This review contains spoilers.
What lengths should we go to help our loved ones? How do we reconcile grief with the need to move forward? Is it possible to forgive the unthinkable?
Answering any of these questions would be a tall order for any show averaging under a dozen half-hour episodes per season. However, Apple TV’s “Shrinking,” whose first episode of Season 3 dropped on Jan. 28, makes a valiant effort.
Written by Jason Segel, Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence, the series offers a stirring meditation on grief, forgiveness and the power of a chosen family.
The Los Angeles-based drama follows Jimmy (Segel), a therapist grieving the death of his wife, Tia (Lilan Bowden), from a tragic car accident. The series focuses on Jimmy rebuilding a fractured relationship with his teenage daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell).
As he mourns, Jimmy drinks away his depression while indulging in drugs and escorts. Meanwhile, Alice is taken in by their next-door neighbors Liz (Christa Miller) and Derek (Ted McGinley), who act as her surrogate parents as Jimmy spirals further into depression.
After Jimmy recuperates, he decides to radically shake up his therapy practice. Instead of providing a listening ear, he begins offering clients his frank opinions about their conditions, giving unfiltered advice on how they should address their issues.
In an extreme case, he invites Sean (Luke Tennie), a veteran dealing with PTSD who was kicked out of his home, to live in his guesthouse. After three seasons, Sean has yet to move out. In another case, he pressures Grace (Heidi Gardner), a client dealing with an abusive boyfriend, to break up with him, which invariably backfires.
Beyond extreme scenarios, “Shrinking” is masterful in its relatability, traversing evergreen themes like reconciliation and navigating complex friendships. While Jimmy and Alice struggle with extreme grief, no aspect of the series feels sensationalized, a testament to its excellent script.
Characters like Paul (Harrison Ford), a disgruntled therapist in charge of Jimmy’s practice, pull at the heartstrings. Grappling with a worsening case of Parkinson’s and rekindling his relationship with his daughter, Paul serves as a watchdog for Jimmy’s unconventional therapy practices and a confidante for Alice as she navigates her grief.
Gaby (Jessica Williams), a colleague of Paul’s and Tia’s best friend, offers much-needed comic relief. And, self-assured and radically compassionate beyond her years, Alice is a heroine for the ages.
A number of things make “Shrinking” compelling. It’s rare for a show to have no characters who are inherently unlikable. Somehow, “Shrinking” avoids this tendency, introducing characters that are as empathic and sincere as they are flawed.
The drama also wisely portrays grief as a cyclical process, rather than propagating the narrative that grief is a five-stage progression that eventually concludes. The deep connections that characters form in the wake of Tia’s death reveal that there can be beauty in grief, a reality that is rarely touched upon in television and film.
“Shrinking” also spotlights the power of forgiveness. As Alice grieves her mom’s passing, she connects with Louis (Goldstein), the drunk driver responsible for her death. Battling suicidal ideation and deep-seated regret, he finds in Alice an unlikely friend.
Any teenager who loses a parent to a drunk driver could be bitter and resentful. In Alice’s relationship with Louis, “Shrinking” explores the entanglements of rage and forgiveness.
A show about a widowed therapist and his teenage daughter grappling with loss could have been a standalone piece. “Shrinking,” though, incorporates so much more. With nuanced plotlines and characters so endearing you wish they were your friends, “Shrinking” stands as one of my favorite shows in years.
Emmy-worthy performances from a dynamic cast further complement the series. Ford delivers a remarkable performance as Paul, who acts as an anchor and voice of reason on the show. Williams, an alum of The Daily Show and co-host of the comedy duo 2 Dope Queens, delivers a remarkable dramatic performance, despite her comedy background.
Apple TV has gifted viewers some of the most ambitious and boundary-pushing content on television, like “Ted Lasso” and “Pluribus.” I’d argue that “Shrinking” deserves a place in the same conversation.
With a new episode dropping Wednesday night, there’s no better way to round off the week than bingeing this fantastic series.
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