Chris Connor reviews the second season of Apple TV+’s Shrinking…
Shrinking proved a hit in 2023, from Ted Lasso’s Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel, it told the story of Segel’s Jimmy Laird, a therapist struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife and how to keep his life on track. Jimmy’s life and work often intersect especially through his relationships with colleagues Gaby (Jessica Williams) and Paul (Harrison Ford) and patients like Sean. The series earned strong reviews for its balance of comedy and heartfelt drama.
The show’s second season picks up shortly after the conclusion of the first with Jimmy’s life beginning to get back on track. Jimmy’s patient Grace is in prison having pushed her husband off a cliff, recalling some of Jimmy’s advice. Of course as with life, the loss of a loved one is not something you can get over immediately so there are still plenty of obstacles for Jimmy to face, especially when it comes to his relationship with Gaby which began to get more serious at the tail end of the first season.
Segel continues to impress as Jimmy of course a comedian by nature but showing plenty of dramatic range within the role. Harrison Ford continues to be a delight as Paul, showing the comic timing he’s long had in iconic roles like Han Solo and Indiana Jones but putting it to good use in a consistent fashion and clearly revelling in playing against type so late in his career. Ted McGinley is given an expanded role as neighbour, following more of a supporting role in the first season, this is a welcome expansion proving a constant source of laughs.
The one drawback is perhaps that this feels at times like a retread of the first season in terms of the will they won’t they with Gaby and some of Paul and Jimmy’s interactions. At 12 episodes there is slightly more meat on this bone which fans will lap up but does it entirely justify its longer run?
Shrinking’s sophomore season delivers more of the same mix of heart and laughs as the first season and it is a welcome return to these characters which the actors slip so effortlessly inhabit. If it may not be as fresh as first time around there is still plenty to admire about the show and it remains a winner for Apple TV+. It is easy to get absorbed into Jimmy’s struggles and those closest to him and how they bond.
Chris Connor
