‘Shrinking’ Scores Early Season 2 Renewal at Apple TV+
Doctor’s orders: more Shrinking!
Apple TV+ has renewed Shrinking for Season 2. The announcement comes with just three episodes left to release in its 10-episode freshman season (Episode 8 drops Friday, March 10, on the streaming service). While no official casting announcements have been made, it’s safe to assume stars Jason Segel, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, and Christa Miller will return for the new season.
Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein of Ted Lasso created Shrinking. The series follows grieving therapist Jimmy (Segel), who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives… including his own.
In addition to Segel and Ford (as Paul), the series stars Williams as Gaby, Miller as Liz, Lukita Maxwell as Alice, Michael Urie as Brian, and Luke Tennie as Sean. In Shrinking Episode 8, titled “Boop,” Paul and Brian come to Jimmy’s aid when Alice starts acting out. Liz and Sean support Gaby by accompanying her to an event.
The first season of the Apple TV+ comedy has received a swell of positive reviews. Its bittersweet look at grief and the complicated interpersonal dynamics of grieving families has drawn praise. Apple TV+ doesn’t release streaming figures, but the renewal is an indicator that the show is performing well for the platform.
“We have loved the engaging, touching, and hilarious world of Shrinking since the beginning, and it has been wonderful to watch as audiences around the world continue to connect with these big-hearted characters,” Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+, said in a March 9 statement. “We can’t wait for viewers to experience what the cast and creative team have for Season 2.”
The comedy marks one of Ford’s first-ever TV series (see him in a dramatic series in Paramount+‘s 1923) and features recurring stars Ted McGinley and Lily Rabe and guest stars Wendie Malick and Heidi Gardner. It balances the heavier emotional moments with some comedy gold. The Episode 6 engagement party, for example, features Paul (Ford) stoned out of his mind, Jimmy (Segel) drunkenly vomiting all over his piano mid-performance, and Gaby (Williams) and Liz (Miller) trying to figure out a female equivalent phrase for “get it up” (they land on “grease the peach”).
Shrinking show is produced by Warner Bros. Television, where Lawrence and Goldstein are under overall deals and Lawrence’s Doozer Productions. Lawrence, Segel, Goldstein, Neil Goldman, James Ponsoldt, Randall Winston, Jeff Ingold, and Liza Katzer serve as executive producers. Lawrence, Segel, and Goldstein wrote the first episode, which was directed by Ponsoldt.
Shrinking, Fridays, Apple TV+
