AppleTV’s Shrinking is finally back for its third – and best season yet.
As the season starts, everyone is dealing with changes that they have to adapt to. Jimmy (Jason Segel) has finally forgiven Louis (Brett Goldstein) for the accident that killed his wife, Tia (Lilan Bowden), and is about to become an empty nester as Alice (Lukita Maxwell) is about to go off to college. Alice has to decide whether to stay in L.A. or go off to college on her own. Paul (Harrison Ford) must continue to reckon with his Parkinson’s diagnosis and what that means for his future, both professionally and with Julie (Wendie Malik). Gaby (Jessica Williams) is struggling with what she wants to do in her career. Brian (Michael Urie) and his husband are nesting in preparation for the baby they’re adopting. Sean (Luke Tennie) and his food truck are thriving, and…Liz (Christa Miller), well, Liz has managed to meddle her way into everyone’s business, as usual, with Derek (Ted McGinley) in tow.
These plots intertwine seamlessly throughout the season, in ways that make complete sense for the characters, especially for Jimmy. As the series’ lead, he has the biggest arc of the season, moving on. Which proves to be a lot harder than he thought it would be, even if he has the never-ending advice of his fellow therapists Gaby and Paul, and Liz’s incessant meddling.
Shrinking has never suffered from bad writing; on the contrary, its writing has gotten tighter and tighter each season, and season three proves that. It’s clear that the writing team created by Brett Goldstein, Bill Lawrence, and Jason Segel not only knows what they’re doing but also knows who they’re doing it with. Each actor in the ensemble and each guest star gets their moment this season, a rarity with casts as large (it’s an ensemble of nine, plus multiple recurring characters throughout the season) as this one. It’s a skill that little writers’ rooms have, more often than not, having characters sidelined for almost entire seasons because they’re unable to figure out how to split the focus amongst them all.
This herculean task is done with ease for these writers, and they do it with such ease that it never seems to make the characters and their actions come off as forced. On the contrary, it makes them seem genuine and human.
The highlight of the season — and of every season, if we’re being honest — is Harrison Ford’s performance as the grouchy, but lovable Paul. He is the heart of the series, the one that everyone goes to for advice, no matter how small the issue is. It’s crazy to think that with a career as fruitful as Ford’s, this is his first series. And there’s no doubt that the writers take advantage of having that honor. His performance this season is the best yet, and will break the audience’s heart not once, but multiple times throughout the season — they might as well start engraving his name on the Emmy.
New episodes of Shrinking premiere on AppleTV on Tuesdays at 9PM EST.
Photo: Apple TV+
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