Binge-worthy: Comedy drama Shrinking dishes out a spoonful of sugar for serious mental health issues
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Jason Segel (left) and Harrison Ford in Shrinking.
PHOTO: APPLE TV+
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Shrinking
Apple TV+
3 stars
If you enjoyed Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and the much-lauded scenes between its eponymous protagonist (Jason Sudeikis) and his therapist (Sarah Niles), two of the writers behind that have created Shrinking, a show centred on a psychotherapy practice.
Here are three reasons to stream this likeable but melancholic comedy drama, which stars Jason Segel as a therapist who breaks the rules with his patients and Harrison Ford as his disapproving boss.
1. Ted Lasso’s conflict-avoidant cousin
America’s love affair with psychotherapy has seeped into popular culture via films and shows, such as The Sopranos (1999 to 2007) and Analyze This (1999), which depict sessions with therapists.
The Emmy-winning Ted Lasso (2020 to present), a sports comedy series about the American coach of an English soccer team, goes deep with its exploration of trauma and toxic positivity.
Like Lasso, Shrinking’s Jimmy (Segel) is a man running away from his problems.
His wife died a year ago and, rather than confront his grief, he has turned to alcohol and drugs and is avoiding his loved ones.
Jimmy’s latest distraction is pouring his energy into his patients’ problems by blurting out what he really thinks of them – and this starts to shake the cobwebs off his own psyche.
But if one were to psychoanalyse the show instead of the character, one would say Shrinking is Ted Lasso’s people-pleasing, conflict-avoidant and somewhat schizophrenic cousin, steering into profound grief one minute and cracking childish jokes the next.
2. Psychotherapy lite
You get glimpses of Jimmy’s patients, but their issues never rise beyond cliche, whether it is an army veteran with post-traumatic guilt or a woman with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
And the series is so intent on the gags and maintaining a feel-good chill that the crux of their struggles is glossed over.
3. Spoonful of sugar for serious mental health issues
Jimmy’s colleagues Phil (Ford) and Gaby (Jessica Williams) have their own problems too, and while Phil’s are taken seriously, Gaby’s are tackled with sophomoric humour.
The result is a show that is amiable and funny, but also afraid of its own shadow.
Then again, this might be the spoonful of sugar some viewers need to even begin contemplating some of these issues.
