Jump On The 'Shrinking' Bandwagon And Don't Wait Until After It's Cool. The Apple TV+ Series Is Tracking To Be The Year's Best New Comedy
Emma McIntyre. Getty Images.Just thought I'd follow up last week's blog about Apple TV+'s new comedy about grief, Shrinking and let y'all know that uhh…yeah this show is still living up to and even exceeding the hype after its fourth episode.
Seriously, if you need to decompress from the depressing, dark HBO series The Last of Us — I've begun watching that as well and think it's awesome in its own right — Shrinking is the perfect, ahem, prescription.
OK I know, Harrison Ford. That was a bit of a corny pun. That's on me. I'll be better. It's just that, you know, you being a therapist and all…No? Alright.
Look I'm trying to keep my analysis pretty vague and not spoil too much in case you're still working your way around to seeing it. From here on out, I imagine it'll be more of a weekly review-style situation. Here's the synopsis once again:
"Shrinking follows a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives…including his own."
The latest episode that dropped Friday, titled "Potatoes", legitimately gave me four of the biggest laughs I can recall having watching a TV show in the past couple years. This clip from the beginning of the 'sode doesn't really spoil anything. It's side-splitting out of context regardless.
Ted McGinley, the actor who plays Derek, is hilarious. He just kind of enters out of nowhere most of the time and drops all these hysterical one-liners. Christa Miller plays Derek's wife, Liz, who has a much bigger role — also unbelievably funny — and essentially serves as a de facto parent for her next-door neighbor. Jason Segel's character Jimmy Laird struggles to grieve the death of his wife and can't be consistently present for his daughter, which is where Liz steps in.
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I took a lot of time highlighting the main stars like Segel, Jessica Williams and of course Harrison Ford in the last Shrinking post. McGinley and the rest of the ensemble are all INCREDIBLE, too. The actor who plays Segel's daughter, Lukita Maxwell, has excellent timing and has such a great dynamic with one of the other stars who I won't reveal just yet.
Then you have Luke Tennie as Sean, one of the patients Segel's Jimmy sees. Lots of layers to that dude that are only starting to be peeled back. Lots of room for him to grow in that role. Anyway, the pair's relationship evolves to say the least because of what the synopsis states. Jimmy can't reconcile his own grief and he's fed up with his patients who aren't taking action to change their lives, so he takes matters into his own hands.
So many genuine surprises in this show that I can't bring myself to fully articulate here at least until the 10-episode midway point strikes next week, but suffice it to say, they come in the form of pitch-black jokes about death, and OH MAN. Jimmy's best friend is a lawyer named Brian played by Michael Urie. That man doesn't miss. Just flexing on 'em in every single scene.
When I tell you the bandwagon is filling up, I mean it. According to Reelgood, Shrinking was the fifth-most streamed TV series or movie from February 2 through 8, behind only The Last of Us (HBO/HBO Max), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney+), Poker Face (Peacock) and You People (Netflix).
If for some reason you start streaming Shrinking and don't like it, I'll let a Harrison Ford GIF do the talking.
And I also don't want to be your friend because you probably have fucking awful taste.
No but for real WATCH SHRINKINGGGGGGGGGGGGG.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok
If you want more of my thoughts on movies/TV and entertainment and what not, check out the latest episode of My Mom's Basement. I jumped on this week with Robbie Fox and Clem to discuss the Ant-Man movies among other things!