Shrinking

With no sense of exaggeration intended, this show consistently hits it out of park, offering up characters who admit their flaws, embrace their foibles, and ultimately improve as a result. This might all sound a little bit safe for some, but have faith, because very soon Shrinking will be picking up Emmy awards – remember where you heard it first.

The writers do an amazing job of pinging back and forth between various characters and their relationships on a level rarely seen in a TV comedy. ... You never know what goes on behind the scenes, but one gets the feeling Ford is having one hell of a great time on this show. We’re sure having a hell of a great time watching it.

Every character in “Shrinking” is worth getting to know. The biggest surprise is how great Ford is at just letting loose in a comedy. (Trust me, he’s hilarious). “Shrinking” deserves to become a huge hit.

While Shrinking does sail a bit close to the wind at times, it mostly does a good job of keeping its whimsical side sufficiently anchored in reality.

Judging by the first six episodes sent out to critics for review, Apple TV+’s first 2023 comedy kicks off the year with a helluva bang. The well-balanced dose of sarcastic and contagious humor (rooted in pain and heartache) is the kind of prescribed laughter we need to heal our souls after a long and hard day.

By the second episode it's gelled into an easygoing hangout comedy filled with charming characters who are, by almost any measure, way too involved in each others' lives but also seem incapable of living without one another. ... This is very much an ensemble series that gives the rest of the cast plenty of welcome room in the spotlight, with Williams and Ford effectively playing co-leads.

Shrinking embraces the messiness of interpersonal relationships in that aspect. While some problems can’t be wrapped up in 45 minutes, some really great stories can be told in 30.

This is a promising and unique venture, blending highbrow (shout-out to Carl Jung!) and lowbrow (projectile vomit humor!). The sharp writing offers poignant feels, and the cast seems up for anything.

An endearing and earnest comedy, and all of the ridiculously unprofessional behavior — against which Jimmy’s disapproving colleagues provide the show’s voice of reason — is in service of affectionate character studies and a boatload of healing.

Shrinking has such affection for its flawed and funny characters that you may even yearn for extra sessions. [30 Jan - 12 Feb 2023, p.8]

Episode by episode, it's notable how "Shrinking" isn’t rushing to get anywhere. But the characters are so strong, with the plotting always keeping their dysfunctional relationships in flux, that the series works as a hangout in which you care most about everyone’s honesty with themselves and others.

Given the richness of the casting, it’s also hard to imagine the show going beyond its first season, though there are many reasons you wish it would. ... Everyone comes off as authentically human, save perhaps for Jimmy. But he’s a work in progress, with an entourage of endearing role models showing him how to be real.

The pieces of Shrinking are familiar — though one of them, Harrison Ford’s comic turn as Jimmy’s mentor Paul, is the kind we haven’t seen in a while — but they still work, particularly in the hands of this excellent creative team and cast.

Segel is ultimately the one carrying the show - Ford, Maxwell, Jessica Williams and the rest of the central players all put in strong, engaging performances, but this thing rests on Segel's shoulders, and he doesn't disappoint.

If the show does start to lose you, it won’t be for long. (Unless, perhaps, you’re a real therapist.) Breezy episodes and clever writing ripe with undeniable jokes and razor-sharp relatability help anchor Shrinking‘s effective execution. But its greatest strength lies in a charming cast with excellent chemistry and characters you can’t help but root for.

In a way, the series has a good deal in common with “Ted Lasso,” in the sense that it succeeds not because of its premise – which sounds completely ordinary and familiar – but in spite of it. “Shrinking” isn’t a big idea, but with a big heart and genuine laughs, it, too, achieves its goal.

It only takes a few episodes for “Shrinking” to feel like a true ensemble.

Nestled between the shenanigans, which include a fair amount of sexual frankness, is a generous and thoughtful accounting of grief.

You may love “Ted Lasso” or you may hate it, but you can’t argue that it isn’t sure of itself. Less so with “Shrinking,” though it has a kind of comfortable, lived-in pace and execution that makes it easy to watch.

At its best, “Shrinking” is a show about how decisions have unexpected ripple effects. One doctor decides to go off-book and that pushes his friends and colleagues to take leaps that they may not have otherwise considered. That’s an easily watchable concept. It treads water a bit too much in the middle of the season after its set-up has kind of drifted away and the writers are content to just bounce the now-established characters off each other, but this is also the section of the first season in which it feels the ensemble starts to gel.