Season two of the hit Apple TV+ comedy/drama Shrinking premieres in October, with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford once again starring as therapists with problems of their own. A trailer previews the new season, with Segel’s character making progress dealing with his daughter, his crusty mentor and all his other issues.
UPDATE: The wait is over for Shrinking Season 2. It started streaming Wednesday on Apple TV+. And critics like the new episodes even more than season one, with the sophomore season of the show earning a 94% approval rating from the review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Shrinking is not a traditional sitcom
Sitcoms featuring psychologists — even classics like The Bob Newhart Show — typically use the theme “let’s laugh at the funny crazy people.” But that’s not what Shrinking does. In the Apple TV+ series, the therapists need as much help as anyone else, and everyone is handled respectfully and kindly.
Apple’s official description of the series says:
“Shrinking follows a grieving therapist (played by Segel) who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he makes huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives … including his own.”
That could be the description for a drama, but the series generally plays with the premise for laughs. Not entirely though, as this is more of a dramedy.
In season one, Jimmy (played by Jason Segel from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Sex Tape) broke the rules and became involved in his patients’ lives, providing therapy outside of the office. But in the new trailer for season two, Paul (played by screen legend Harrison Ford) urges him, “Why don’t you try to stick with conventional therapy? Try and be normal.” But normal isn’t really Jimmy’s expertise, especially as he deals with trauma from the death of his wife.
The two therapists continue their back-and-forth on how many barriers there should be between therapists and their patients. And whether they should be Batman and Robin.
Watch the Shrinking season 2 trailer
Shrinking season 2 premieres October 16
Shrinking is a feel-good comedy with a dose of drama. And it’s popular with both audiences and critics.
The series quickly became one of the most popular series on streaming, and stayed near the tops of the ratings charts its whole run. As for critics, season one received a 91% approval rating from the review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Jason Segel scored an Emmy nomination for his work on the show, as did Jessica Williams.
Season one of the comedy wrapped up in spring 2023, so new episodes are somewhat overdue. Still, the months-long strike by writers and actors last summer surely caused production problems. The wait is almost over because Shrinking season two debuts Wednesday, October 16 with two episodes. There’ll be a dozen in the season (more than season one) and it’ll run though Christmas Day.
Watch to catch up? Season one is ready to be binge-watched now. Watching Shrinking and many other series or films comes with a subscription to Apple TV+. The service costs $9.99 per month, with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle.
And Apple’s streaming video service also includes much more, of course. There’s a growing library of drama, thrillers, comedies, sci-fi, musicals, children’s shows, nature documentaries, etc.
This article originally ran September 26. It was updated and republished with the release of Shrinking season 2.