A dishevelled middle-aged man rides his bike to work, shouting “Get the f*** out the way!” at other cyclists. He’s hungover. Having spent the night mainlining tequila at a depressing pool party, he’s been knocking back prescription pills all morning. Naturally, there’s some unresolved trauma – his wife recently died in a car accident. But as he hurries into the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Centre in his hometown of Pasadena, late for his appointment, it turns out he’s not the one receiving therapy – he’s actually the one paid to be there.
This is the opening scene of Shrinking, Apple TV+’s chaotic, heartwarming new 10-part comedy. It stars Jason Segel as Jimmy Laird, a grieving therapist who starts to break protocol and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. “Grace, your husband is emotionally abusive,” he snaps at one woman. “Just f***ing leave him.”
