‘Shrinking’ Season 2 Is Better Than Its First, Borrowing Some ‘Ted Lasso’ Magic
‘Shrinking’ Season 2 Is Better Than Its First, Borrowing Some ‘Ted Lasso’ Magic
Season 2 of this Apple TV+ comedy is full of heart, humor, and hard truths.
The shrinks are at it again. Season 2 of “Shrinking,” starring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford on Apple TV+, picks up right where the first ended and immediately begins exploring the loose ends left dangling by the Season 1 cliffhanger. The first season was all about the characters starring grief in the face and confronting it, and the first episode back makes it clear that the second season will have them learning to grow and attempt to heal from the trauma that drove their choices last season. Fortunately, like the initial 10 episodes that aired in early 2023, this new batch is filled with the heart and humor that made audiences fall in love with this cooky cast of characters a year and a half ago.
Check out the trailer for “Shrinking” Season 2:
The show uses the familiarity and fondness that its viewers have for the ensemble cast as a way to jump back into the action quickly. While Segel, Ford, and Jessica Williams lead the main story, the supporting cast is what draws the audience back. It’s easy to lock in with the range of characters like Christa Miller as the busybody neighbor, Luke Tennie as a patient turned chosen family member, Michael Urie as Segel’s best friend, and especially Lukita Maxwell playing Segel’s teenage daughter. More than any individual performance, it’s the group chemistry that makes the show work at such a high level.
Once the returning cast is reintroduced and we’re caught up on what everyone’s been up to in the short time since we last saw them, the show quickly delves into a look at this season’s overarching theme of forgiveness as a means of healing.
The second season of “Shrinking” is equally as quick-witted as the first and can be just as charmingly goofy. It has a level of predictable vulnerability to it the way you knew an episode of “Ted Lasso” would feel like a pat on the back or a bear hug by its conclusion. Uncoincidentally, “Shrinking” was created by Segel, Bill Lawerence “Ted Lasso” co-creator), and Brett Goldstein (writer and Roy Kent on “Ted Lasso”); the latter shows up on screen in Season 2 and makes the show better for it.
One of the things that “Shrinking” does so well is normalizing getting help, especially via therapy. In between the jokes, silliness, and sub-plots, the show offers glimpses of what a life dedicated to healing looks like. While the construct of the show early in Season 1 might not be approved by The American Board of Professional Psychology, “Shrinking” attempts to show that getting help doesn’t have to be scary. It will almost certainly be difficult, and you might not want to do it at times, but it can work. For anyone who’s gone through a tragic loss, the show can sting and isn’t necessarily the escape or feel-good time that it can be for other people. Still, anyone who can bear 30-minute doses of hard truths mixed with earnest love and belly laughs will probably be better off for it.
Apple TV
Apple TV (formerly known as Apple TV+) is a subscription video streaming service for $14.99 per month, offering a growing slate of original series, films, documentaries, and specials. Unlike other platforms that combine licensed titles with originals, Apple TV is built entirely around exclusive programming, making it the home of critically acclaimed hits such as “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” “The Morning Show,” and “Silo.” Its lineup continues to expand with award-winning dramas, comedies, family-friendly shows, and blockbuster original films like “CODA,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.