"Grief Is Messy"
Shrinking is about what happens when a therapist stops following the rules. Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) is a grief counselor whose wife died in a car accident. He's not coping. He's drinking, neglecting his daughter, sleeping with clients' mothers. Then he decides to try something new: radical honesty. He tells clients exactly what he thinks. He interferes in their lives. He breaks every ethical guideline.
The show could have been dark—a therapist in freefall. Instead, it's a comedy, and a surprisingly optimistic one. Jimmy's unorthodox approach sometimes works. His clients—Sean (Luke Tennie), an angry veteran; Grace (Heidi Gardner), who can't leave her partner; Alice (Lukita Maxwell), his teenage daughter—start making progress, and Jimmy starts working through his grief.
His colleagues provide contrast and support. Paul (Harrison Ford, in a career-best TV role) is an older therapist with Parkinson's who disapproves of Jimmy's methods but respects his intentions. Gaby (Jessica Williams) is his best friend's widow, complicating everything. Liz (Christa Miller) is the meddling neighbor who inserts herself into every situation.
The show is from Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Scrubs) and Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent himself), and it shares Ted Lasso's belief that messy people trying to help each other is inherently watchable. The grief is real—Jimmy's wife is dead, his daughter is hurting, his best friend is gone. But the show doesn't wallow. Therapy, it suggests, is messy. Recovery is non-linear. And sometimes you need to break the rules to find what works.
Harrison Ford's deadpan delivery as Paul is a running gag that never gets old. "I have Parkinson's. I'm not dying. I'm just going to deteriorate slowly in front of you." His gruffness hides genuine care.
Characters & Acting (9): Jason Segel is charming as the broken therapist. Harrison Ford is a revelation—grumpy, funny, tender.
Narrative Drive (8): Each episode balances comedy, therapy, and grief. The momentum comes from emotional beats, not plot twists.
World Building (7): The therapy practice, the neighbors, the family dynamics create a lived-in world.
"Coin Flip" (S1E1) — Jimmy breaks the rules. Sean gets punched. It works?
"Fascist White Birds" (S1E4) — Alice's grief. Alice's anger. Jimmy's failure.
"Closure" (S2E1) — Moving forward. The group grows. Grief evolves.
US/UK: Apple TV+