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Jason Segel and Harrison Ford Dish Out a Dose of Reality in Apple TV+ Comedy ‘Shrinking’
You might think your therapist has it all figured out, but it turns out everyone has problems. Apple TV+‘s upcoming comedy series Shrinking, flips the coin completely, walking us through the life of a grieving therapist (played by Jason Segel) who starts telling his patients what he really thinks instead of giving a fair-minded and rational assessment.
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Jason Segel in ‘Shrinking’ (2023) | Image: AppleTV+
Apple dropped a new trailer during its presentation at the Television Critics Association’s winter 2023 press tour, giving us our best look yet at the series’ plot, characters and all the ensuing drama that comes with an unhinged therapist. Shrinking is a ten-episode comedy TV series created by Jason Segel and Ted Lasso writers Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, with Warner Bros. Television producing the project. Lawrence, Segel, and Goldstein also serve as executive producers for the TV series alongside Neil Goldman, James Ponsoldt, Randall Winston, Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer.
The new Shrinking trailer shows us Segel’s Jimmy Laird and his teenage daughter Alice, portrayed by Lukita Maxwell, still coming to terms with the passing of their wife/mother. However, for Jimmy, this change seems especially hard to deal with and has started hampering his work life too. In the trailer, we see a series of patients talking about their life problems to Jimmy, who appears completely disinterested and bored and even yawns during a particular session. Just when things begin to look bleak for our father-daughter duo, Harrison Ford‘s Dr. Paul Rhodes arrives as a saviour. Rhodes not only serves as Jimmy’s boss in the series but also as a mentor figure, guiding him to recover from the tragic loss.
Jason Segel and Harrison Ford in ‘Shrinking’ (2023) | Image: AppleTV+
Paul expresses his concerns to Jimmy telling him that he’s been “numbing” himself over the death of his wife, thus putting his mental health at risk. Shit hits the fan when Jimmy loses his calm during a therapy session with a client, who’s taken aback by her therapist’s sudden outburst. Jimmy tells his client that there’s no hope for her in the “emotionally abusive” relationship she has her husband. “He’s not working on it. He doesn’t intend to. Just leave him,” Jimmy yells out.
When the patient reacts with a simple, “okay,” this serves somewhat like a Eureka moment for Jimmy, who comes up with a whole new way to help people: by telling hard-hitting truths. “I think I can help people, if I get my hands a little bit dirty,” expresses Jimmy. However, his idea is instantly shot down by other colleagues at the centre, which isn’t surprising at all. Later in the trailer, we see Ford’s Dr. Rhodes giving crucial life advice to Jimmy’s teenage daughter, Alice, saying, “Nobody gets through this life unscathed. You’re faced with a choice. Are you going to let your grief drown you? Or are you gonna face it, come through the other side?”
Whether and how Jimmy and Alice come through the other side of things and win control over their lives back is something we’ll find out when Shrinking premieres on Apple TV+ on January 27.
Harrison Ford in ‘Shrinking’ (2023) | Image: AppleTV+
Shubhendu Vatsa
Shubhendu Vatsa is an experienced reporter specialising in video game, eSports and technology coverage. A BTech IT graduate, Shubhendu has previously written for entertainment-based publications such as GiveMeSport, Touch, Tap, Play, Attack of the Fanboy, EssentiallySports, Twinfinite and The Load Out.
