When it premiered in early 2023, the Apple TV+ series “Shrinking” impressed most notably in its ability to seamlessly mix humor and a very serious subject matter.
Therapist and walking, talking HIPAA violation Jimmy (Jason Segel) mostly avoided confronting his trauma after his wife Tia (Lilan Bowden, shown in flashback) was killed by a drunken driver by finding unorthodox, often unethical new ways for his patients to confront their own. Deft writing allowed grief, PTSD and antisocial and compulsive behaviors to be handled comedically without the people involved being butts of jokes.
Moreover, Jimmy was essentially an antihero buffered by our residual affection for Segel from his more vulnerable performances on “How I Met Your Mother” and in film roles. In addition to audience goodwill, Jimmy was ensconced in the friendship, community and wisecracks of his fellow characters. But the sometimes pointed nature of those wisecracks, by the friends and neighbors who cared for Jimmy’s teenage daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell), when Jimmy could not cope, reminded us that darkness always lurked nearby, and that Jimmy’s treatment of his daughter was a dereliction of duty.
A true comedy-drama created by Segel and “Ted Lasso” veterans Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence, “Shrinking” Season 1 contained enough edge to make it distinctive. Season 2 sands away that edge with a higher quips-per-scene ratio, more emphasis on supporting characters, an intrusive alt-rock soundtrack and other sitcom trappings.
The characters are still lovable, the performances mostly spot-on and the show, much like “Lasso,” always feels like a warm embrace. But the world of “Shrinking” has contracted instead of expanded in its sophomore season, diving deeper into the lives of characters in Jimmy’s orbit who formed a friend group in Season 1. They include the surly but wise Paul (Harrison Ford) and delightful Gaby (Jessica Williams), Jimmy’s partners in a therapy practice, and nosy neighbor Liz (a prickly yet endearing Christa Miller) and her mellow husband, Derek (the ageless Ted McGinley, who was on “Happy Days,” for goodness sake).
The most intriguing threads from last season, including Jimmy’s casual but impassioned sexual affair with Gaby, are tied up too easily, as is a storyline involving a character (played by Goldstein – Roy Kent in “Lasso”) from Jimmy’s past. Goldstein’s appearance starts off promisingly when Jimmy explodes at seeing the guy again, but seems to wrap up in the same squishy, overly optimistic manner so many conflicts in “Lasso” did — at least based on the 11 episodes (of a total 12) Apple TV+ made available to critics.
Jimmy’s tortured relationship with Alice, whom the talented Maxwell plays as poised yet still believably kidlike, seems mostly patched up. But Alice’s free therapy sessions with Paul cannot last forever — Jimmy ought to be saving up for his daughter’s future therapy.
Season 2 also might be hampered by the series’ big event — Tia’s death — having occurred even before Season 1 began. There are only so many places the show can go from there. Unlike “Lasso,” “Shrinking” lacks the built-in arc of sports storylines. An attempt to turn Jimmy’s and Paul’s attempts to counsel Sean (Luke Tennie) — a former soldier with anger issues who is living in Jimmy’s pool house — into a fierce competition plays as contrived, if not a little bit weird.
With Jimmy also having forsworn off-campus therapy sessions, fleshing out supporting characters is one of the few remaining storytelling options. This is great news for fans of the comically gifted, immensely appealing Williams, who is more of a third lead after Segel and Ford, but whose character’s storylines have been too Jimmy-centric. This season, she gets a new love interest, although the show, having perhaps struck too early, might just be biding time until revisiting a romance in later seasons.
Paul, who decided to one-up Jimmy’s inappropriate doctor-patient relationships by dating the neurologist (the always wonderful Wendie Malick) treating him for Parkinson’s disease, explores his own commitment issues while Brian, Jimmy’s self-absorbed yet loyal best friend (Michael Urie), and his more down-to-Earth husband (Devin Kawaoka), move forward in their recent marriage.
The “Modern Family” vibes are inescapable, down to expensive to really expensive L.A. homes in which the characters live and how nobody can have a gathering or even a moment of quiet without several other characters involved.
The jokes not only seem more frequent but less considered, their hit and miss quality more noticeable than in Season 1. For example, using “lazy river” as a punchline twice in a single series … the critique writes itself.
The characters are so self-actualized and self-aware that they in many ways preempt a critic’s — or any viewer’s — ability to make observations. Characters comment about how they are committing to a bit, and roast Jimmy for his hangdog expressions and Paul for his Batman-esque gutteral way of speaking. They’re really commenting on Ford and Segel, of course.
The refreshing frankness with which Gaby and Liz discussed their — and other women’s — sexuality in Season 1 also has gone missing, apart from the odd crass comment or running joke about sex toys. But the enduring comic chemistry between Williams and Miller suggests these talks could make a comeback in subsequent seasons.
With so much comic talent, including so many actors who long ago perfected the sitcom form — Segel, McGinley, Miller (“The Drew Carey Show,” “Scrubs”), Urie (“Ugly Betty”), and Malick (“Just Shoot Me”) — perhaps becoming more sitcom-esque was not a choice but a natural outgrowth of casting. Or of pacing, Season 2’s episodes tend to last 32-plus minutes sans commercials, creating a total run time in the wheelhouse of a 22-episode network sitcom’s.
Either way, those trusty iPhone alerts from Apple TV+ that let you know new episodes of “Shrinking” have dropped seem unlikely to cause a rush to watch a la “Lasso,” “The Morning Show” or even less-heralded shows like “Physical” or “Palm Royale.” Because even though the concept does not literally apply, “Shrinking” Season 2 gives the sense that you can easily catch it later, in syndication.
“Shrinking” Season 2 premieres with two episodes Wednesday, Oct. 16, on Apple TV+.
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