Harrison Ford Is Hilarious In This Apple Show

Considering the overwhelming majority of people I know have an iPhone, it will never make sense to me how often I have to practically beg the folks I know to accept and embrace the fact Apple TV+ is home to some of the best original shows currently streaming. “Ted Lasso” and “Severance” managed to break through and become huge hits with audiences after going viral, but it seems like everything else is following the classic television model — finding its audience a season or two in thanks to overwhelmingly positive word of mouth. Thankfully, Apple is wise enough not to hit the panic button after one season, so now everyone who was late to the party with shows like “Shrinking” can immediately join the fun when season 2 arrives.

With no exaggeration, “Shrinking” was arguably the best new show of 2023. Jason Segel stars as therapist Jimmy Laird — a hot-ass mess of a human being struggling with his grief in the wake of his wife’s death — who starts breaching unethical barriers with his patients by telling them his actual thoughts and trying out unconventional therapeutic methods. He’s supported/critiqued by his curmudgeon mentor Dr. Paul Rhoades (Harrison Ford in his best performance in probably 30 years), his fellow therapist and wife’s best friend Gaby (national treasure Jessica Williams), well-meaning neighbors Pam and Derek (Christa Miller, Ted McGinley), Jimmy’s daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell), Jimmy’s lawyer bestie Brian (Michael Urie), and Jimmy’s patient Sean (Luke Tennie), who currently lives in his guest house to the chagrin of, well, pretty much everyone.

A show about therapists and their problems doesn’t sound like it would be one of the best new comedies, but this is also a series where Harrison Ford gets high and then spends an entire night nursing a bag of Doritos while Ted McGinley tells his racist neighbor to “eat a d*ck” with a smile.

Normally, this is where I’d include some cute little recap of season 1 and what we can expect in season 2 (or hope to see), but I know there’s a chance that a good chunk of the people reading this right now haven’t watched “Shrinking” and were drawn in with the promise of Harrison Ford being hilarious. Seeing Jason Segel’s trademark brand of dorky hijinks push up against Ford’s grouchy charm is comedy gold. As funny as the show is, there’s also serious depth beneath all of the jokes. Creator Bill Lawrence (“Ted Lasso,” “Scrubs,” “Spin City”) was looking to find comedy in grief, and in doing so found a way to explore the nuanced complexities of our relationships to one another and the non-linear pathway to healing.

At its core, “Shrinking” is a show about people, and each of these characters is practically exploding with personality. A lot of films and television shows earn the “relatable” label, but even in those circumstances, the characters deemed relatable tend to still be idealized versions of people we wish we could be. While on “Shrinking,” every single person makes mistakes because it’s a core part of being human, and there’s no one way to get through this life. Sometimes you’re so bad at dealing with the pain of losing your wife that you unintentionally convince your patient in an abusive relationship to push their abuser off a cliff, and sometimes you’re an empty-nester who’s freaking out about your new stage in life so much that you become obsessed with the problems of your neighbors just to feel something. Personally, I can’t wait to see what messes all of these characters get into with season 2, if only because I’m rooting for them to dust themselves off and try again.

Season 2 of “Shrinking” begins streaming on Apple TV+ on October 16, 2024.