Review: 'Shrinking' Season 2 is heavy on the laughs, heart, and perfect cast
The Apple TV+ comedy returns with a second season set on the power of forgiveness
“You want me to pull my pants down and make my ass clap?”
So says Harrison Ford in the trailer for Season 2 of “Shrinking,” Apple TV+’s hit dramedy from co-creators Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein.
It’s hard to imagine Ford, now age 82 and known as a lovable but surly grump, speaking that combination of words (Han Solo is a maybe). But if Season 1 of “Shrinking” taught us anything, it’s that nothing is out of the question for Ford and his character, Paul, as the Hollywood legend has fully embraced his comedic side.
Season 2 of “Shrinking” shows no signs of slowing down – when it comes to Ford’s comedy, or delivering a multi-layered dramedy that’s equal parts laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreakingly tender.
The second season jumps right back into the misguided-but-well-intentioned therapeutic practices of Jimmy (Segel), a therapist who decided to ditch the rule book and start telling his patients how he really felt and what he actually thought they should do. The results were largely positive – traumatized military vet Sean (Luke Tennie) confronted his past and conquered his anger issues – until one of Jimmy’s patients pushed her husband off a cliff.
Season 1 left us with a literal cliffhanger, and a curious path forward. Surely “Shrinking” isn’t venturing into the legal drama or crime-thriller genres? Fear not, despite the twist, it’s still the same quick-witted comedy that knows exactly when to deliver its emotional blows. While grief took the front seat in Season 1, forgiveness appears to be on the schedule for Season 2, as the stage is set for multiple characters to grow and learn to forgive – particularly Jimmy.
Through its first two episodes, Season 2 puts the lovable cast on full display as the banter is flowing from the jump.
Jessica Williams is brilliant as ever playing Gaby and bringing a whole new layer of emotions to the character. Obviously, Williams is hysterical, but her work early this season setting Gaby’s boundaries with both Jimmy and Liz (Christa Miller) is particularly impressive and exciting for what’s to come. With Gaby juggling two jobs, a new house, and her confusing situationship with Jimmy, Williams is going to have plenty to work with in Season 2 to allow her to really dig into the character. Lucky us.
Another highlight seemingly headed our way this season is a deeper dive into Luke Tennie’s Sean. After being rescued by Jimmy in Season 1, it’d be easy for Luke to fade into the background as the series progresses, but that’s not what you do when you have an actor as talented as Tennie. The early episodes of the new season set the stage for Sean to finally confront his lingering resentment towards his father – a storyline sure to be packed with emotion, which is where Tennie shined most in Season 1.
The most exciting thing about the two-episode premiere, however, is what it resists revealing. “Ted Lasso” star Brett Goldstein, a co-creator of “Shrinking,” joins the cast this season in a juicy role (no spoilers here) – and both episodes give a brief glimpse of the character, but it’s clear there’s so much more still to come. Known as the gruff, no-nonsense Roy Kent on “Lasso,” Goldstein will be playing “something totally different,” on “Shrinking,” according to Segel. As long as that brilliant, computer-generated man is on my TV, it doesn’t matter who he’s playing.
The ingredients that made the show’s first season such a hit – the humor, the heart, the cast, and the killer soundtrack (shoutout Christa Miller pulling double duty as music supervisor) – they’re all still here in Season 2 as the recipe continues to be fine tuned.
Season 1 thrived when it came to pairing up its characters in unique dynamics you wouldn’t quite expect. There’s the obvious Jimmy-Sean relationship, but what about Sean and Liz? Liz and Gaby are great together, but Gaby and Paul? In the new season, “Shrinking” continues to pair its cast in unusual ways and the results are dynamite. Give us all the Paul and Alice (Lukita Maxwell) scenes you’ve got, and please, just pair Derek (Ted McGinley) with literally anyone.
What remains to be seen is how Lawrence and Co. can continue to spice up the recipe to keep things fresh in the second go ‘round. Through two episodes, the stage is set for plenty of adversity, be it Jimmy’s past, Gaby’s hot mess express, or Paul’s willingness to open up.
Sign us up for another session.
Stream the two-episode premiere of “Shrinking” Season 2 October 16 on Apple TV+.