Josh Reviews Shrinking Season Two
I loved the first season of Shrinking, and it’s been a long year-and-a-half wait for the second season! I was a little nervous that they wouldn’t be able to recapture the magic of the first season, but I’m delighted to report that my fears were groundless. This second season of Shrinking is every bit as wonderful as the first. The show continues to skillfully balance hilarious comedy with a rich exploration of the emotional lives of its characters. And while there are plenty of tough dramatic moments for the characters, the show retains its warm, humanistic, and optimistic tone that I found so endearing about the first season (as well as many of the other shows, such as Scrubs and Ted Lasso, overseen by Bill Lawrence, who co-created Shrinking along with Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein).
A key aspect to why I loved this show in the first season was how much fun it was to watch these characters hanging out together. (This, too, has been a hallmark of many of Bill Lawrence’s shows!) Even though, narratively, one might think these characters shouldn’t have a reason to like one another or even to interact at all (for example, Gabby and Liz, who started off the first season hating one another but ended up as BFFs), the show was able to mine gold both comedic and emotional from allowing the audience to watch these people bond and hang out and support one another. The show leaned into that aspect here in season two, and it paid off extremely well. Almost any time the show allowed a group of characters to hang out together — in Jimmy’s kitchen, in Liz & Derek’s backyard, in the staff room/kitchen at Jimmy/Paul/Gabby’s office, etc. — great stuff would happen.
I was also pleased that, in an era in which streaming shows seem to be getting shorter and shorter seasons, Shrinking’s season actually expanded from ten episodes in the first season to twelve episodes here. This made me happy, and there’s no question the show benefited from having the extra breathing room to tell these stories, and to allow the characters more space to grow and bounce off of one another. (There’s no question in my mind that the criminally short six-episode orders given to comedies such as Party Down’s fourth season and Girls5Eva’s third hurt those shows. I loved both of those seasons; the creators did their best, and they made the most of those six episodes. But imagine how much more effective both those shows would have been had they been given more time and space for the characters to grow and play.) So bravo to the folks at AppleTV+ for making this move! (The second season of Ted Lasso was also expanded from ten episodes to twelve, although famously that happened after the writers had already charted out the ten-episode season, meaning that the two extra episodes were each stand-alones. I loved both of them — the Christmas-themed “Carol of the Bells” and the wonderfully bizarre “Beard After Hours” — but it’s great that the Shrinking team were able to more smoothly integrate their two extra episodes into their season.)
Let’s dive into the season! There will be some minor SPOILERS ahead. Nothing too major, but if you’re planning to watch season two of Shrinking and just haven’t gotten to it yet, I advise you to stop here and c’mon back when you’ve finished this fantastic season of television. For everyone else… onwards!
Season one ended on an intriguing cliffhanger in which one of Jimmy’s patients, Grace, takes a piece of Jimmy’s advice a bit too literally and “boops” her awful boyfriend by pushing him off a cliff. It seemed like that was going to get Jimmy and Grace both into a LOT of hot water; I was pleased by the way the writers were able to address that event at the start of season two without letting it derail the show or dominate the storylines too much. (Turns out Donny wasn’t dead, just badly injured; and in a very funny scene Brian was able to skillfully lawyer Jimmy out of jeopardy. I was a little surprised that Paul wasn’t more upset when he found out what had happened, but I could roll with that because ultimately I don’t want these characters to be at odds with one another for too long.)
As appealing and wonderful as this show’s supporting cast is, I was glad this season continued to explore Jimmy (Jason Segel) and his journey back from grief. I’m also glad that, while the show mines a lot of funny and interesting stories out of Jimmy’s continued attempts to “Jimmy” his patients — smashing through the usual boundaries between a therapist and their patients — the show also allows itself to wrestle (at least a little bit) with the consequences of those actions. So it was good, for example, to see the show and the characters recognize that Jimmy shouldn’t continue to be Sean’s therapist… and I was very moved by the way the season finale explored just how fragile Jimmy’s mental state really was, and how much he himself was in need of therapy to help process his grief (something that Paul has been saying since the start of the show).
Speaking of Paul — Harrison Ford continues to gift us with this, his greatest performance in decades. Mr. Ford is magnificent this season (and wow do the writers know just what kind of great material to give him to hit out of the park). Mr. Ford is incredibly funny, utilizing his famously gruff and impatient persona for laughs while also allowing us peeks at the kind heart lying right below Paul’s surface. I was surprised the show escalated Paul’s Parkinson’s symptoms so quickly. It gave Mr. Ford a lot of great material to play, but because I want to watch ten more seasons of this show, I don’t want Paul to be out of the mix too quickly! I liked seeing the continuance of Paul’s relationship with Wendy Malick’s Dr. Julie (though I think the show maybe played the beat of Paul’s being an idiot in terms of how he handles their relationship one too many times), and wow did Mr. Ford destroy in the season finale, in Paul’s emotional speech at the Thanksgiving party. Yes, Harrison Ford is an amazing actor! Mr. Ford, where have you been for the last three decades??
I don’t even know who in the supporting cast I should talk about next, because I love them all so much! Let’s start with Jessica Williams as Gabby, who I felt really came into her own this season. The writers gave Gabby so much great stuff this season, from her relationships (with Jimmy and then with Damon Wayans Jr. as Derrick #2), to her professional life (starting her teaching career and handling an amusingly needy student), to her family life (navigating her fraught relationship with her sister and her aging mom). I also loved seeing the deepening of her friendship with Liz. I love those two together! Christa Miller is so funny as Liz — she performs deadpan humor so well. Liz is a lot of fun being snarky, but I liked that the show dug deeper into her feelings of restlessness and loneliness, with her three sons out of the house. I wasn’t expecting her to cheat on Derek — who is portrayed as possibly the greatest man who ever lived; unflappable and endlessly upbeat — but I thought that was an interesting storyline, and it led to great stuff for Derek. (More on that in a moment.) Liz was shockingly clueless when she sold her share in the food truck to Sean’s dad (that she would do so without talking to Sean was one off-note for me in this mostly perfect season), but that played in well to Liz’s general feelings of being unmoored. Ted McGinley as Derek was secretly my favorite character on the show in season one, and wow was he even greater here. The show utilized Mr. McGinley as a killer comedic weapon, always deployed to perfect and hilarious effect. And then they went and gave Mr. McGinley some meaty dramatic material to play — discovering that Liz had kissed an old flame — and wow was he dynamite in that scene. Just amazing.
Sean’s journey to make peace with his violent, angry outbursts stemming from his PTSD was a major focus in season one, and I’m glad they continued that story here in season two. It was great to see Sean happy and doing well, and thriving as a chef with his own food truck. (Luke Tennie, who plays Sean, has a great smile!!) And it was painful seeing him falter, most notably when he picks a fight with three workmen because he’s so angry at his dad. It was interesting to follow the baby steps Sean and his dad made towards one another; both nudged by Jimmy and Paul (I loved the scene in which they canoed up to Sean’s dad). Kenajuan Bentley was strong as Sean’s dad Tim; it’s good for the show to see one character who hasn’t yet had his rough edges sanded off by Jimmy and/or Paul.
Michael Urie was a standout in season one as Brian. He only entered the show a few episodes in, but clearly the writers and producers loved him, and they quickly incorporated him into the ensemble. (Brian and Jimmy were estranged at the start of the season, but they got over that fast, and I wasn’t complaining.) Mr. Urie continued to be spectacular this season. His repeated dramatic performances of how he wound up befriending Louis (more on Louis in a moment) were a comedic highlight of the season! I enjoyed getting to see him strut his stuff as a (very competent) lawyer at the start of the season, and I enjoyed the sweet story of his steps into adoption with his husband Charlie (Devin Kawaoka). I was also happy to see how much interesting stuff the writers gave Lukita Maxwell to play as Alice. It was interesting and sad to see her drawn to seeking out Louis, the driver who killed her mom… and it was heartwarming to see how genuinely she was able to care and make a connection with him once she discovered how broken he was by what had happened. I also loved all the great stuff with her and Summer (Rachel Stubington), fighting after Alice — struggling to deal with all of her emotions — winds up sleeping with Summer’s boyfriend Connor (Gavin Lewis). It was fun to see the show continuing to expand its ensemble this season. This is what great TV shows do, building out the world and giving us lots and lots of wonderful side characters to know and love. Wild, carefree Summer and amusingly dim Connor were both a lot of fun every time they popped up this season. Plus, their relationship led to the amazing and awful “Alice cheats” video that Summer made, of which Paul gives a very funny spoken-word reading!
The main addition to the ensemble this season was Brett Goldstein as Louis, the drunk driver who killed Tia, Jimmy’s wife and Alice’s mom. Mr. Goldstein, of course, played Roy Kent on Ted Lasso, and is a co-creator of this show. It was fascinating to see Mr. Goldstein appear here, clean-shaven, playing a very different man than Roy Kent. Whereas Roy was brash and loud and angry, Louis was quiet and soft-spoken. It was a bold move to bring this character onto the show. When Louis’ storyline started, I was worried the show would veer into saccharine, tear-jerker territory. The painful flashback sequence at the start of episode 8, “Last Drink”, in which we follow Louis in the lead-up to the accident, was rough. I didn’t love the discomfort of waiting for the shoe to drop and the accident to occur, though of course that was the point. (Though I do have a continuity problem with those flashbacks — season one established that Jimmy and Tia were in a fight when she died, but there’s no evidence of that in what we see here. Oops!) I was surprised by how quickly Alice and Brian found themselves happily laughing at a dinner with Louis, but I think that fits well into the show’s overall positive, optimistic outlook. That’s one of the best qualities of this show — that despite the flaws of the characters we’re watching, they all are trying to be there for one another — and so it makes sense that they’d bring this character in and tackle head-on how Alice and Jimmy feel about him. I will confess they got me in the finale, and I got very nervous that Louis would kill himself; but of course it was perfect that Jimmy would be the one to meet him on the train platform. I hope Louis continues to be a part of the show in season three (and I’d love to see his fiancee again as well).
Another great addition this season was Damon Wayans Jr. as Derrick #2. I loved how chill and cool Mr. Wayans played this character!! Derrick #2 was almost as slick and lovable as Derek #1. (Thank you to the internet, by the way, for clarifying to me that their names are spelled differently.) Damon Wayans Jr. was a great addition to the ensemble. I also enjoyed getting to know Gabby’s family; Courtney Taylor and Vernee Watson did strong work as Gabby’s sister Courtney and her mom. I was also overjoyed to see Cobie Smulders pop up as Sofi, from whom Jimmy buys a car. I never watched How I Met Your Mother, but Ms. Smulders and Jason Segel have wonderful chemistry. I was bummed that Sofi didn’t pop up again at the end of the season. I’d love to see her again in season three.
I loved seeing Neil Flynn (the Janitor on Scrubs) appear in season one as Raymond, Paul’s client and, eventually, his friend, and I was happy he was back several times here in season two. His scenes with Paul were always great. It was fun to see him join the gang at the Thanksgiving party in the finale. Frankly, it was a delight seeing so many of the show’s characters all gathered together for that Thanksgiving celebration! Does it stretch credulity that they’d all be at Jimmy’s house for Thanksgiving? Yes! But I don’t care! It fits into what I love about this show; how it allows these characters to come together and play off of one another. I just love watching these characters hang out.
This second season of Shrinking was terrific. I loved every episode. I’m sorry it’s over! I can’t wait for season three. And I hope that, unlike the three-season arc for Ted Lasso, this show will continue for many more years. I can’t wait to spend more time with these characters and to see what’s next for all of them.
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