Everyone in our business got so excited when it was announced that Harrison Ford was going to star in his first TV series, the Yellowstone prequel 1923. There was so much hype behind that show that we all forgot that he shot two series back to back. The second series may not take place on the open plains of Montana, but it sure as hell shows a side of Ford that 1923 never did, thanks to Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel, and Brett Goldstein.
SHRINKING: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: As Billy Joel’s “Angry Young Man” plays, and we hear sounds of people whooping it up, we pan over to two people in bed.
The Gist: Liz (Christa Miller) and Derek (Ted McGinley) figure out who’s going to go next door, to their neighbor Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel), and remind him that it’s the middle of the night. He’s drunk and has two random girls in his pool, but he has no idea what time it is. But as annoyed as Liz is, she knows what he’s going through, so she gently gets him to turn off the music.
He’s hungover, his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) is perpetually ticked off at him, and his vintage Bronco is out of gas. As he bikes into a therapist’s office, he enters his appointment late. It’s then when we realize that he’s the therapist, not the patient. He’s definitely off his game that day, tired of not being able to tell his patients exactly what he thinks. Then he snaps and tells one patient (Heidi Gardner) to leave her husband and she agrees.
He bursts into the breakroom to tell his partners, water-guzzling Gabby Evans (Jessica Williams) and cranky Paul Rhoades (Harrison Ford), about his win. Neither are enthused about Jimmy giving a patient such a biased opinion, which makes Jimmy bristle. But before he leaves for the day, Gabby gives him a case to cover for her.
Sean (Luke Tennie) is a former soldier who is taking court-ordered therapy after he beat the hell out of a guy. Jimmy yawns during the first session, but during the second, he offers something unconventional in order for Sean to get his anger out: Sparring at the local UFC gym. After one of the sessions, he let Sean in on the fact that about a year ago, his wife Tia (Lilan Bowden) died in a traffic accident.
That’s the source of why he’s been adrift, so much so that Alice has been spending most of her time at Liz’s house, and generally resents him for not being present for her as she mourned. When Paul gets word that Jimmy has been doing this unorthodox — and borderline unethical — work with Sean, he needs to be convinced by Jimmy to let him do it.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The vibe of Shrinking is pretty close to Ted Lasso, which isn’t a surprise given that Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein created the show along with Segel.
Our Take: The only moment during the first episode of Shrinking that felt sitcommy was when Paul decided to relent and let Jimmy try his unconventional method, but on second watch, it’s also a scene that shows what the series is going to be about. It’s definitely going to be about compassion, not only for the grieving that Jimmy and Alice are going through, but the compassion Paul and Gabby are going to have for these unconventional therapeutic methods Jimmy wants to use.
Like in most Bill Lawrence shows, the unit around Jimmy, from his business partners to Liz and Derek to even patients like Sean, is his family. Lawrence’s shows have always emphasized the benefits of having family around, even if that family consists of neighbors and co-workers. Without having a support system in place, Jimmy may have gone off the deep end after Tia died. The fact that he’s adrift but still involved, still caring that Alice, for instance, doesn’t want to be around him, and caring for his patients is largely due to his support system holding him up over the past year.
But now its time for that support system to let him build his life back up again, especially when it comes to reconnecting with Alice. And in that scene between Segel and Ford, you could see why Lawrence, Goldstein and Segel wanted the usually-gruff Ford for the role of Paul. Paul founded the practice, but he also mentored Gabby and Jimmy; he sees them as more than business partners, but his own family. So under that gruff, cursing, Harrison Ford-style exterior is that compassionate guy who cares more about Jimmy than he does his practice.
Williams’ usual brand of cool is the balance to Ford’s gruffness, and seeing the two of them together in scenes is a treat. She also plays very well off Segel, like when she makes fun of him for never having seen Home Alone and he isn’t even aware she’s doing it. Again, it’s all done with affection, and as this group coalesces around Jimmy getting better and learning to deal with his grief, the more fun their interactions will get.
We’ll be curious to see how central Jimmy’s relationship to Sean drives the season’s story. Will the successes Jimmy has with Sean lead him to do more with his other clients? Will there be a falling out because the two are becoming too co-dependent? Or will it go in a completely different direction?
Does Shrinking have the potential to go down some of the more treacly paths that Ted Lasso did during its second season? Absolutely. But Lawrence knows how to put together an ensemble that can make people care about the characters enough to get them past the more treacly episodes in a particular season. And it seems that Segel, Goldstein and Lawrence are on the right path in that direction here.
Sex and Skin: None, at least in the first episode.
Parting Shot: Sean gets arrested at Alice’s soccer game — why he and Jimmy were there is a long story — defending Jimmy from the husband of the patient he told to get out of her marriage. Alice goes to her bleeding dad and thanks him for coming. “I would have come sooner; it’s just that… you look so much like your mom.”
Sleeper Star: We’ll give this to Ted McGinley because he’s Ted McGinley. Also, as Derek has some snarky-but-friendly jabs for Jimmy, who has essentially dumped his daughter and his dog on Liz and Derek while he works on his grief. Also curious to see where Michael Urie, who plays Jimmy’s estranged best friend Brian, fits into this story.
Most Pilot-y Line: Gabby just happens to mention that Paul has Parkinson’s when she asks Jimmy whether to give him her “baby” water bottle (much smaller than the gallon bottle she has). It’s kind of an “oh by the way” reference that still sticks out because it will likely factor in later in the season.
Our Call: STREAM IT. A fine cast and lots of warmth give Shrinking a good chance of becoming just as much of a buzzworthy hit as Ted Lasso, as long as it doesn’t get too sticky sweet in the process.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.