SHOW OF THE WEEK: Shrinking (Jan. 27, Apple TV+)
Two words: Harrison Ford.
If you have heard about “Shrinking,” it’s a good bet it’s been in relation to this being a rare TV role for the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” star.
And Ford is very good in this comedy (I can’t speak to his other TV role, in “1923,” not having jumped on the “Yellowstone” bandwagon). The 80-year-old brings easy humour and curmudgeonly gravitas to the role of a 70-something senior therapist in a Pasadena, California, practice.
But he doesn’t do it alone: a large part of the appeal of “Shrinking” is the interplay between Ford’s character, Paul, and fellow therapists Jimmy (Jason Segel, who created the show along with Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence of “Ted Lasso”) and Gabby (Jessica Williams, “2 Dope Queens”).
Although I do admit: Ford is a real scene stealer and, in effect, the star of the show.
Segel’s Jimmy is the main character. He is floundering when we first meet him, struggling to deal with the death of his wife and letting his turmoil bleed into his sessions with his patients, whom he starts treating in unorthodox ways.
Jimmy takes a particular interest in Sean (Luke Tennie, “Deadly Class”), a young Afghanistan war vet whose PTSD manifests in violence. But Jimmy has also been avoiding interacting with his teenage daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell, “Generation”), and his best friend, Brian (Michael Urie, “Ugly Betty”), and those chickens are coming home to roost.
(Christa Miller and Ted McGinley round out the main cast as Jimmy’s nosy next door neighbour Liz and her husband Derek.)
Paul and Gabby have personal issues of their own: a health challenge, a fresh divorce, an estranged daughter. It’s a case of therapist heal thyself, but that, as you would expect, is easier said than done.
Mistakes are made, arguments had, feelings hurt, but the characters have each others’ backs. And that’s the point of the show, it appears.
As Paul tells Brian and his fiancé Charlie (Devin Kawaoka) — while he’s high on marijuana gummies at their disaster of an engagement party, mind you — “vulnerable people will always find a way to stay connected.”
It would be unfair to compare this show to “Ted Lasso,” but they do share a seeming belief in the innate goodness of people, even when they’re screwing things up.
What they don’t share is an overarching sense of purpose — in the case of “Lasso,” the fate of the soccer team — connecting the characters and the plots. Tangents appear in “Shrinking” without any discernible reason; for instance, a minor plot about Alice’s dalliance with one of Liz’s sons that seems to be there only to give Segel a chance to show off his pliable facial expressions.
Like “Lasso,” there’s also plenty of quippy dialogue, which stops just short of being cloying because of the likeability of the cast.
Everybody has their own stuff to get through, “Shrinking” tells us: it goes better when you let other people share the burden. Not a groundbreaking revelation but one that’s enjoyable enough to watch play out.
Odds and Ends
Another debut that’s bound to get buzz this week is that of “Poker Face,” the Peacock series created, written and directed by Rian Johnson, the Oscar-nominated director of “Knives Out,” “Glass Onion,” “The Last Jedi” and “Looper.” It debuts on Citytv+ on Jan. 26. It stars Natasha Lyonne of “Russian Doll” and “Orange Is the New Black” as Charlie, a woman who’s a human lie detector of sorts and who solves a new crime in every episode. I’ve only seen the pilot, not enough to accurately judge, and reviews are embargoed till Tuesday in any event. And, of course, Citytv has the latest instalment of “The Bachelor” (Jan. 23, 8 p.m.), in which Zach Shallcross, one of Rachel Recchia’s “Bachelorette” rejects, is the one ostensibly looking for love.
CBC has the documentary “Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children” (Jan. 29, 8 p.m., CBC and CBC Gem), in which filmmaker Barri Cohen goes looking for the truth about her half-brothers and uncovers the hell hole that was the Huronia Regional Centre. It’s where thousands of children deemed unfit for society, whether because of intellectual disabilities or other perceived flaws, were institutionalized for more than a century and, according to survivors, endured physical, sexual and emotional abuse. CBC Gem also has “How to Lose Everything: The Series” (Jan. 27), animated short films that explore personal stories of loss, and are written and animated by pairs of Indigenous artists.
With the name Elon Musk seemingly popping up everywhere these days, the docuseries “The Elon Musk Show” (Jan. 23, Paramount+) claims to get to the heart of who he really is by interviewing the people who know him best. Paramount+ also has “Teen Wolf: The Movie” (Jan. 26), a sequel to the werewolf series that reunites the original stars; and “Wolf Pack” (Jan. 26) — do you sense a theme here? — another teenage werewolf story based on the books by Canadian author Edo van Belkom.
The Netflix offerings include the documentary “Black Sunshine Baby” (Jan. 23), about Aisha Chaudhary, the Indian author and motivational speaker who died of pulmonary fibrosis in 2015; new series “Lockwood & Co.” (Jan. 27), about a trio of teenage ghost hunters in London; and “You People” (Jan. 27), a comedy romance film directed by Kenya Barris (“Black-ish”), and written by Barris and star Jonah Hill.
For fans of the series “Willow,” Disney+ has the making-of documentary “Willow: Behind the Magic” (Jan. 25). There’s also the new series “Extraordinary” (Jan. 25), about a young woman who seems to be the only person over 18 who hasn’t developed a superpower; and “Darby and the Dead” (Jan. 27), about a teen who’s able to see ghosts after a near-death experience.
If you’re a fan of Jennifer Lopez rom-coms, Prime Video has “Shotgun Wedding” (Jan. 27), in which she and Josh Duhamel play a couple whose destination wedding is hijacked by criminals. Jennifer Coolidge of “The White Lotus” is one of the co-stars. Prime also has docuseries “Good Rivals” (Jan. 27) about the rivalry between the U.S. and Mexican national soccer teams.
Speaking of sports, Crave’s main offering this week is “Grind Now, Shine Later: The Chris Boucher Story” (Jan. 25) about the former Golden State Warrior who’s now a Toronto Raptor.
Last but not least, AMC+ has yet another David Attenborough-narrated nature docuseries — the man is 96, does he ever rest? — “Frozen Planet II” (Jan. 28), a sequel to “Frozen Planet” in which the cameras return to the Arctic and Antarctic as well as the world’s other coldest regions.
NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.
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