Shrinking season 2 review: Therapy comedy knows itself better in superior sequel

For some, it hit home more than others, but there's no denying there was another factor at play in the audience response - Ted Lasso.

The series arrived as viewers waited desperately for that acclaimed show's third season, and given its creative ties - primarily the involvement of co-creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein - it was difficult not to compare the two, and find Shrinking very slightly lacking.

Season 2 arrives in a different space - not only has Ted Lasso gone away (for now?), but it also has the breathing space to stand alone, with expectations for this second run set by the first, rather than a completely different, already successful show.

However, it's not just myself as a viewer that appears to have come to this season with a different outlook - it seems the creative team has too.

Season 2 picks up soon after the literal cliffhanger at the end of the first, which saw Jimmy's patient Grace pushing her abusive boyfriend off a cliff.

Given this, Jimmy is now grappling with whether his experimental method of therapy, in which he is honest and upfront with his clients, and tells them not only how he really feels but also what he thinks they should do, is really the way to go.

The biggest change which is notable right from the outset at the start of this season is how much of an ensemble piece it has become.

This is the one point at which Ted Lasso springs back to mind. While season 1 of that show was fairly firmly focused on Jason Sudeikis's Ted and his journey, the focus gradually shifted over time, until the third season gave just as much attention to Hannah Waddingham's Rebecca, Phil Dunster's Jamie Tartt or Juno Temple's Keeley Jones as it did to the affable coach.

Here, that transition has happened much more quickly and much more abruptly. However, it actually proves to be to the show's benefit.

Shrinking has a fantastic supporting cast around Jason Segel, and here it's smartly learned to utilise them. Jessica Williams, Lukita Maxwell, Michael Urie, Christa Miller and Luke Tennie all get much more to play with here, and do great work with the material they're given.

Maxwell and Urie, in particular, are standouts, the former because of the dramatic work she gets to do, and which she sells completely, and the latter because his role felt somewhat lacking in season 1.

Here, he not only factors into the show's central storylines in a more cohesive way, but he also gets plenty of comedic work to do, which he excels at.

Meanwhile, Ted McGinley is also promoted to a main cast member, having played a supporting role as Liz's husband Derek in season 1.

While his increased involvement is clearly a recognition of his - and the character's - comedic potential, he has also been given some more dramatic work this time around, and rises to the challenge, rounding out his loveable, amiable character.

The success of this strategy, of course, relies not only on each of the storylines proving to be engaging in their own rights, but in them colliding to form a cohesive whole, even if it's more thematic than literal.

It's here where season 2 really excels, as it feels as though there is a clear throughline this season, something it's trying to say about its characters, and indeed people at large and our emotional states.

Lawrence has spoken at length about season 2's theme being forgiveness, where season 1 was focused on grief. That is evident from the outset, and the shift in focus helps to even out the tone, which in season 1 could border on jarring.

Unfortunately, there's going to be a notable hole in this review, as there's one aspect of this season we are, as of yet, forbidden from talking about. However, once you've seen the end of the first episode, it will become abundantly clear.

This story beat helps to bind everything together, and give the show a sense of direction and purpose which it didn't always have in its first season.

In my season 1 review, I noted the show's seeming lack of attention to its central premise surrounding Jimmy's experimental therapy. Here, while it is a factor, the show still doesn't lean on it entirely.

Thankfully, this isn't a problem this time around, not just because expectations have been set, but also because it has other story elements to sustain it, and has shifted to a more rounded character-based series.

As with the first season, the comedy is once again a little hit and miss. There are definitely laugh-out-loud moments, and plenty of chuckle-inducing lines, but there are also a few awkward moments that don't land, where the style of jokey comedy doesn't quite fit with the tone of the rest of the show.

The incessant quips and banter sometimes feel forced, whereas the show's humour works better when it's driven by character and plot, rather than over-obvious set-ups and punchlines.

Of course, there has so far been one glaring omission in this review - Harrison Ford.

When you take a step back, it's still kind of incredible that the man behind Indiana Jones and Han Solo is a supporting player in this Apple TV+ comedy, but somehow he manages to detract from all that and inhabit the character.

When you're watching the series, it's a minor miracle you aren't constantly thinking, 'That's Harrison Ford,' rather than, 'That's Paul the therapist,' but somehow it works.

His screen-time in season 2 feels somewhat diminished, like with Segel's - he is now part of the ensemble, and less the secondary protagonist that he was in season 1.

Still, his commitment to to the role and to its comedic bent is spectacular, and he is personally responsible for some of the show's funniest moments. Meanwhile, the character's ongoing Parkinson's storyline remains touching and sensitively handled.

It will be interesting to see how fans of season 1 take to season 2. In so many ways, it is a superior set of episodes, even if the emotional weight is perhaps slightly less palpable, given the shift of focus.

Still, there will be those who come to the show solely for Segel, and it's those fans who may feel somewhat short-changed by this new outing.

However, if they are able to look beyond the leading man, they will find that the supporting cast are all putting in phenomenal work, helping to make this show greater than the sum of its parts in round two.

Shrinking season 2 will premiere globally with the first two episodes on Wednesday 16th October on Apple TV+, followed by one new episode weekly, every Wednesday until 25th December 2024. You can sign up to Apple TV+ now.

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