Although Apple TV+ is still in its infancy compared to other streaming platforms such as Hulu or Netflix, the caliber of content provided by Apple TV+ has placed it on the map as a streaming platform to watch for new releases. The platform has been building up to the release of Shrinking for a few months now, which comes from the minds of Jason Segel and Ted Lasso’s Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein. Apple TV+ finally unveiled the full trailer for the upcoming emotional comedy series on Wednesday at the 2023 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour. The 10-episode comedy is set to premiere globally with the first two episodes on Friday, January 27th, exclusively through Apple TV+. The subsequent episodes will debut weekly on Fridays.
Check out the official trailer for Shrinking below.
The video opens with Jimmy (Segel) in a succession of therapy sessions with his clients. Jimmy appears uninterested, withdrawn, and detached from his clients as they discuss their pressing issues with him. Against the backdrop of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”, the trailer reveals Jimmy is struggling with grief and managing fatherhood after the loss of his wife. One day, when he abandons his tact and professionalism in a therapy session with a client, Jimmy unlocks a new spark in his life.
The grieving therapist begins to transform, becoming an unfiltered, impassioned counselor that tells his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives — including his own — disregarding any potential ramifications. Through his journey to help others, Jimmy must discover if he can also help himself and return from the shadows of his loss.
Within the trailer, viewers also get to witness heartwarming scenes of the rekindling relationship between Jimmy and his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell), who is also still grieving her mother’s death. Jimmy’s friends and acquaintances are also introduced and show concern for the emotionally distraught widow and the onset of his new unconventional tactics as a therapist. Harrison Ford plays Jimmy’s boss Dr. Phil Rhodes, who heads the therapy practice and also acts as a mentor. Phil has his own battles to confront after his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis ushers him into a new reality where he must consider his legacy. The series is led by Segel and Ford — his second major television role after the Yellowstone prequel, 1923. The heavy-hitting cast also includes Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Michael Urie, and Luke Tennie.
Shrinking Balances Heavy Topics Through Comedy
Although Shrinking is a comedy, the series revolves around life’s heavier moments that can take time to bounce back from. The trailer primarily focused on Jimmy’s journey to heal from his engulfing grief by the way of his new unconventional mental health treatments for his clients. However, Shrinking also addresses the sobering reality that comes from a terminal illness diagnosis and displays the familial reconciliation that happens after a loved one passes. During Shrinking’s panel at TCA, the show's creators discussed conquering these cumbersome moments of the human experience through comedy.
Lawrence spoke on his reasons for wanting to create the series, mentioning his family’s comedic approach to life during heftier times as a source of inspiration for Shrinking.
“It is a bit sad but it’s mostly funny. We wanted to write a show about grief because the world is a bit of a dumpster fire right now. You can’t meet anybody right now that isn’t at least two or three degrees separated from some sad shit going on in their lives. My family approaches that through comedy. It’s good actors and writers that can make that authentic.”
For Goldstein, finding the right balance between comedy and melancholy was necessary when penning the script alongside Lawrence and Segel.
“People keep asking us about the tone. How can you make something that’s so funny but also sad? But I believe, isn’t that life? That’s our daily existence. It’s always about finding balance.”
In understanding that breakthroughs sometimes occur after a breaking point, Segel expressed his perspective of hitting rock bottom.
“It seems like a sad place, but it’s actually very hopeful. There’s nowhere to go but up.”
Don’t miss the premiere of Shrinking on Friday, January 27, exclusively on Apple TV+.