Genre: Drama, Comedy
Created by Bill Lawrence &; Jason Segel &; Brett Goldstein
Starring: Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller & Harrison Ford.
Composer: Tom Howe
Executive producers: Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel, Brett Goldstein, Neil Goldman, Jeff Ingold, Liza Katzer, James Ponsoldt, Randall Keenan Winston
Producer: Kip Kroeger
Production companies: 3 Chance Productions; Corporate Mandate; Doozer Productions; Warner Bros. Television
Distributor: Apple TV+
Plot: A grieving therapist starts to break the rules by telling his clients exactly what he thinks. Jimmy has lost his wife and wants to try a new approach to his loss, but it is unclear how this will help others.
Season 1 of Shrinking was Great.
Pros: The dry humour was the first thing that I really liked about this show. Jason Segel did so well to portray a man who’s struggling to move on with his life. As well as working with Harrison Ford because they bounce off each other so well. And I like the message the show is giving “times are rough, but you can over come them with your loved ones”.
Cons: The antics from Luke Tennie’s character failed to make me laugh. and at certain times some of the jokes fall flat.
Casts & Characters:
Main:
- Jason Segel as Jimmy Laird, a therapist grieving the death of his wife
- Jessica Williams as Gaby, a fellow therapist working with Jimmy at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center
- Luke Tennie as Sean, a patient suffering from anger management issues who has sessions with Jimmy
- Michael Urie as Brian, Jimmy’s best friend who is a lawyer
- Lukita Maxwell as Alice, Jimmy’s teenage daughter with whom he shares a strained relationship
- Christa Miller as Liz, Jimmy’s next-door neighbor who also helps with looking after Alice
- Harrison Ford as Dr. Paul Rhoades, a senior therapist and colleague of Jimmy’s at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center who has Parkinson’s disease.
Recurring:
- Ted McGinley as Derek, Liz’s husband
- Heidi Gardner as Grace, one of Jimmy’s patients
- Lilan Bowden as Tia, Jimmy’s wife and Alice’s mother who died in a car accident
- Kimberly Condict as Wally, one of Jimmy’s patients who has obsessive–compulsive disorder
- Devin Kawaoka as Charlie, Brian’s fiancé
- Rachel Stubington as Summer, Alice’s best friend at school
- Lily Rabe as Meg, Paul’s daughter
- Wendie Malick as Dr. Julie Baram, a neurologist treating Paul’s Parkinson’s disease
- Tilky Jones as Donny, Grace’s abusive boyfriend
Guest:
- Asif Ali as Alan, one of Jimmy’s patients
- Miriam Flynn as Pam, Jimmy and Liz’s heavily disliked neighbor
- Gavin Lewis as Connor, the son of neighbors Liz and Derek, and friend of Alice
- Neil Flynn as Raymond, one of Paul’s patients
I highly recommend watching this series on Apple TV+.
Rating: 9 out of 10 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident TV reviewer,
Level Best Art Café