Shrinking Season 2 Episodes 1-3 Review

The breakout hit, Shrinking, makes a return for its long-awaited sophomore season on Apple TV+. 

The comedy-drama series that first premiered on the streaming platform in January 2023, follows the story of Jimmy Laird, a therapist, who finds himself knee-deep in complicated relationships with his teenage daughter, his colleagues, and his patients, as he navigates his own personal grief and struggles following the recent death of his wife.

Picking up where we left off, season 2 reads like a beautifully nuanced next chapter of that once engaging book you couldn’t put down, but almost allowed yourself to forget why you ever started reading. It hurts and heals all at the same time.

Instead of adhering strictly to the norms of therapy, Jimmy dives head first into the unorthodox, with his informal approach to patient counseling, often at the cost of professional boundaries. No doubt, Jimmy’s unconventional tactics reflect his own personal struggles bleeding over into his work. Spoiler alert — his offerings of unfiltered advice, candid feedback, and even opening up his home to a patient all lead to unexpected and often humorous consequences. 

With a talented ensemble cast, led by Jason Segel as Jimmy, Shrinking offers a unique exploration of therapy and personal growth, blending humor with poignant moments of self-discovery. Joining Jimmy on this journey are his fellow therapists with whom he shares a practice —  Paul as the veritable wall of stoicism and reluctant sounding board, tough-love advisor to everyone but himself, played by Harrison Ford in a surprise small-screen casting move; and Gaby, played by Jessica Williams, best known for her starring role in The Incredible Jessica James, whose one-two punch of wit and sassiness bring an unfiltered energy to every scene.

The bonds between the main characters highlight the importance of friendship and those necessary ride-or-dies during challenging life events. This rich tapestry of relationships, humor, and emotional depth that unfolds each episode allows the series to explore serious themes while maintaining a lighthearted tone. In split seconds, you find yourself laughing, then crying, then laughing again, only this time hysterically to keep from crying. It gets to you because it is so relatable. 

Rounding out the ensemble cast are Christa Miller (you know her from Scrubs) and Ted McGinley (best known for the classic Happy Days) as Jimmy’s well-intentioned, but cannot-read-the-room next-door neighbors; Alice (Lukita Maxwell) as Jimmy’s daughter, whom some fail to remember is also embroiled in her own struggles with her mother’s death coupled with classic teen angst; Sean (Luke Tennie), Jimmy’s young patient-turned-permanent house guest who must balance the fragility of his issues with those around him; and Julie, played by Just Shoot Me alum Wendy Malik, as Paul’s neurologist treating his recently diagnosed Parkinson’s disease and also sharing his bed. Yeah…you read that right. 

Each character's journey is intertwined with Jimmy's; each moment layers onto the next, reflecting the complexities of human connection and the healing process, while also uncovering why doing this life with perfectly imperfect people just makes more sense. The show balances the heart with the laughs, without the Sunday sermon, in a way that makes the challenges of truly moving forward while grappling with profound loss more palatable. 

Jimmy struggles with the guilt of his counsel to his patients, and his immediate regret with leading them astray; Gaby struggles with her feelings in her ongoing friends-with-benefits relationship with Jimmy, complicated all the more knowing she was Jimmy’s dead wife’s bestie; Paul struggles with his deepening relationship with his doctor, uh…what were you telling Jimmy about professional boundaries, Paul? Alice struggles with her dad relapsing with his grief while confronting her issues with the drunk driver who killed her mom; Sean struggles with past associations, current anger issues, and his burgeoning food truck biz with Liz; Liz, ironically, often proves to be the most authentic of the brood, even as she struggles with the vulnerability of loving and being loved by the people around her. I mean, seriously, what do you have to do to get a rock? If you know, you know. 

What could easy become cardboard caricatures of mental health, Shrinking deftly moves in between the emotional and the comical that is life, while giving us a precise look at the fight to keep it all together and embrace the messy people in our messy lives. But, ultimately, the show gifts us the escape and the joy that comes from knowing that the most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed. 

The first three episodes of Shrinking’s season 2 are streaming now on Apple TV+.

New episodes drop each Wednesday. 

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On the KP Scale = 9 out of 10

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