TV RECOMMENDATION: Shrinking

Name: Shrinking

Platform: AppleTv+

Year: 2023 (Season 1)

What’s It About?

We’re going to keep the pop culture recommendations rolling this week with the AppleTV+ show Shrinking. If you haven’t yet heard of it, Shrinking began airing in January of this year and concluded its 10-episode first season in March of 2023. The show stars Jason Segel as a recently widowed (and heavily grieving) father who also happens to be a CBT therapist at a private practice in California. Other therapists at the clinic include his good friend Gabby (played by Jessica Williams) and the crusty but lovable mentor (played by Harrison Ford).

The series kicks off approximately 1 year after the death of Segel’s wife and we find the character in a not-so-great place; grief has made him a largely negligent father to his teenage daughter Alice, and his performance at work has been suffering as well (early montages show him “phoning in” sessions with clients). However, partway through the first episode, Jason’s character receives a helpful “kick in the pants” from plucky next-door-neighbor Liz, and from there he starts the long and painful climb back to a meaningful life, at work and at home.

Highlights: 

1) This show shares a lot of creative DNA (creators and writers) with the AppleTV+ hit Ted Lasso and, as such, strikes a very similar tone. While there are certainly moments of high drama and outrageous comedy, the show is underpinned by a ton of heart and has a tremendous amount of goodwill towards the therapy process in general, and anyone struggling through the hardships of life (therapists included!) Bottom line: if you liked the positive vibes of Ted Lasso and enjoy shows/content about therapy this one may be for you.

2) I will go out on a limb and say this might be the pinnacle of Harrison Ford’s career (yes, I see you Indiana Jones and Star Wars fans and I stand by my statement). Harrison Ford has been playing “crusty lovables” for decades now but this time just feels different; it’s like he was born to play this part and his performance in the show left me wishing I’d had him as my mentor during my formative years as a young therapist. Also, the episode where he partakes in some edibles (to help with Parkinsons symptoms) is exactly as absurd and hilarious as you would hope it to be, so be sure to check that one out.

Caveats:

1) Perhaps the biggest caveat (and this cannot be stressed enough) is that Shrinking is a Hollywood-ized version of CBT therapy! A large part of the show’s premise is about what would happen if a therapist abandoned their “filter” with clients (i.e. sharing what they really thought) and became overly involved in their lives and treatment. (Spoiler alert: it would be highly unethical!) The good news is the show is willing to acknowledge and explore that fact (with Harrison Ford often acting as the voice of reason) and, by the end of the season, we come to realize that blurring professional boundaries can have some dire consequences indeed. Still… some of the therapy techniques depicted (e.g. exposures) are surprisingly accurate/sound and the show does a nice job exploring the notion that therapists are only human and often lead lives that are just as messy and complicated as anyone else’s.

2) The show has as TV-MA rating which means it was created by and for adults, meaning it may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17. The show also contains moments of profanity, violence/gore, sexual references and some crude humor.  

Rating: