Your Weekend Binge Watch: Shrinking
- Johny Walsh
- Nov 20
- 2 min read
Your Weekend Binge Watch: Shrinking
Available to watch on AppleTV+; 2 Seasons currently on air, 22 episodes; Drama, Season 3 premieres this coming January!
Watch Shrinking for a feel-good show with flawed characters that feel like real people we know and love, great writing, and an incredibly strong ensemble cast.
Synopsis
A grieving therapist starts to break the rules by telling his clients exactly what he thinks. Jimmy has lost his wife and wants to try a new approach to his loss, but it is unclear how this will help others.
Thoughts
I love this show. I referred to it as a feel-good show, but that might be a bit misleading. Although I will stand by the fact that I do mostly feel good watching this show, it is, ultimately, a show about how people cope with life and deal with loss. Jason Segel plays Jimmy, a widower/therapist struggling with the death of his wife and doing his best to cope and continue to live. The show centers around him and immerses us in his world: flashbacks of his marriage, his ever-changing relationship with his teenage daughter, his therapy practice and the work he does with his patients, and his relationships with friends and loved ones outside of work.
The ensemble cast of this show is magical. Everyone plays their part so well that you nearly forget they’re actors. The chemistry feels natural, the jokes are great and don’t feel forced, and you, as a viewer, just get the feeling that these people genuinely enjoy each other in real life. And, as a member of SAG-AFTRA, I got to go to a Q&A with the cast (yes, even Harrison Ford was there!) a few months ago, and I am happy to report that it’s not just for the show – these people seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
It's quite a feat to take a show about immense loss and pivot it into a heartfelt dramedy. Yes, it’s technically a drama, but I dare you not to laugh out loud at least once an episode – the jokes aren’t over-the-top a la sitcom but feel like natural, subtle idiosyncrasies of each character. These people are just living their lives, and we – the audience – get to watch like flies on the wall as the natural hilarity of everyday life smacks us in the face.
The various characters all face their own individual struggles and are often met with more challenges but also with heartfelt conversations.
This show can feel like a balm in a world that can otherwise feel chaotic, and for that, I cannot recommend Shrinking enough. Totally BingeReady.
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