Shrinking is the perfect example of what happens when a good show gets the time to work out the kinks early, establish characters, relationships, and build a world, and then gets the chance to run with it all. Is Shrinking perfect in its third season? No, it’s not – which is almost fitting for a show centered around several therapists, their families, and patients – but it’s a show that knows what it is, what its strengths are, and how to move its characters forward even when it might be more fun comically to let them stagnate. And while the series has recently been renewed for a fourth season, this third season completes the initial “three season arc” co-creators Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel (who also stars as Jimmy) set out to tell. And it accomplishes all of that in a truly satisfying manner.
When we left our motley crew in season two, Brian (Michael Urie – high on the manic energy this time around, and once again not given a ton to do other than make quips) and his husband had been chosen by a prospective birth mother to adopt her forthcoming baby – a storyline that kicks into high gear in season three and snags Liz (the wonderful Christa Miller) as one of the key players. Speaking of Liz, she and Derek (Ted McGinley, once again an MVP of the series) have some issues to work out with some of their kids this time around – and a health scare brings some dramatic work McGinley and Miller’s way, showing off just how talented these two are. Paul’s (Harrison Ford, so good and funny) Parkinson’s is advancing, making the question of just how long he can continue to work more pressing – which of course means Wendie Malick’s Julie and Lily Rabe’s Meg are around a lot more this season (and the show is all the better for it). Alice (Lukita Maxwell) is getting ready to head off to college – which means Jimmy is going to have to confront yet another loss in his life, albeit a temporary one, once she goes. And we know that confronting loss is not something he’s particularly great at.
In fact, a lot of season three is centered around the idea of loss and how to accept it and move on. While that has been a theme of the series from the jump – with Jimmy, Gaby (Jessica Williams), and Alice trying to work through their grief over the loss of Tia – it’s morphed into a more universal theme this time. From Paul looking at his own mortality – the loss of physical and mental abilities, the potential loss of his career and professional identity through retirement – to Jimmy’s impending “loss” of Alice to college, there’s a lot of meditating on what it means to walk away, both for the person leaving and for the ones getting left behind.
And, on the whole, the series is spectacular at looking at loss from all the angles. At this stage of the game, we can guess pretty accurately how each character is going to approach a particular situation (Paul will either be bitingly honest or deflect with a gruff comment, Jimmy will be overly emotional and not want to confront anything, Liz will try to turn the situation around for her benefit, Derek will be lovely and open, etc.), so it’s not shocking when many of those reactions come to pass. But this show is smarter than that. It will show us what we expect and then force its characters to dig a little deeper. The writing forces the character to confront what is troubling them and move forward. No more staying in place. No more deflecting. This is season three and emotions must be felt and arcs must be completed. And it’s really great to get these complete arcs, to see the work the characters have done on themselves over these three seasons, and also get to see that there’s still more for them to do when the show moves onto a fourth season.
Now, there’s one major criticism I’ve had of the series since the beginning, and it’s that none of our three therapists are actually ethical therapists. And that’s still the truth this time around (although, in a surprise change, Jimmy is actually the one therapist who likely isn’t on his way to a malpractice lawsuit for something he says or does this time around). I know, this is a comedy, not a documentary. But when how our central therapists – Jimmy, Paul, and Gaby – treat their patients is a key part of the series arc (and it is, for each of them), we need to see a bit more ethical work on their parts. There’s one story arc, in particular, that asks the audience to look at a patient-therapist relationship and make a judgement. And then the story is pretty abruptly dropped an episode later. Which felt like a real misstep in what was otherwise a really interesting arc. Basically, I would never want any of these guys to be my therapist – and I’m not entirely sure the show wants us to come to that same conclusion.
But Shrinking does manage to do the one thing it sets out to do: Create a found family of characters that bounce incredibly well off one another, make us laugh, and occasionally make us cry. It’s a really good show, with a really good cast, and some really great arcs this season. Ford, Miller, and McGinley are at the top of their game (and when the three of them are in a scene together, watch out). Segel has taken Jimmy from a sad-sack liability to someone we understand, even if we don’t always agree with everything he does. This is a truly exceptional ensemble, and when they are given the chance to shine, this is one of the best shows on television.
The third season of Shrinking premieres on January 28th on AppleTV. All eleven episodes were provided for review.
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