‘Shrinking’ Season 3 series review: Growing pains, gentle goodbyes

His daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell) is leaving for college. War vet Sean (Luke Tennie), who was Jimmy’s patient, and is living in Jimmy’s pool house, has been doing well with his food truck. An offer and a reconnection with his ex-girlfriend, Marisol, (Isabella Gomez) make him realise it is time for him to move on.

Gaby (Jessica Williams), Jimmy’s colleague, sees a chance for her dream of setting up a trauma centre to come true but does not know if she is ready for it. She is also not sure if she wants to take the next step with her boyfriend, Derrick (Damon Wayans Jr.). A new patient, Maya (Sherry Cola), makes Gaby question her methods.

Paul (Harrison Ford), Jimmy’s mentor and senior therapist at the centre, has to take a call on professional and personal matters as his Parkinson’s disease worsens. His daughter, Meg (Lily Rabe), would like him to move closer to her in Connecticut. The one-hour season opener sees Paul marry his neurologist girlfriend Julie (Wendie Malick).

Jimmy’s neighbours, Liz (Christa Miller) and Derek (Ted McGinley) re-evaluate their lives after Derek has a health scare. Jimmy’s best friend and lawyer, Brian (Michael Urie), and his husband Charlie (Devin Kawaoka), are enjoying being parents to Sutton, the baby they are bringing up together, with lots of help from Liz. When Charlie has to move to Tennessee for three months, Brian has to decide whether to join him there.

Shrinking follows all these arcs with a light touch and the ensemble cast keeps us invested in the stories. Whether it is Jimmy finally taking the plunge into the dating life with Sofi (Cobie Smulders), Liz and Derek showing some tough love to their son Matthew (Markus Silbiger) or Louis (Brett Goldstein), the drunk driver responsible for Tia’s death, finally being able to forgive himself and return to his graphic design roots.

The guest stars in Shrinking do some heavy lifting as well. Michael J. Fox’s appearance as Jerry, a Parkinson’s patient Paul meets at the doctor’s office, is deeply affecting without being showy, and he gives Paul a mantra to live by.

Candice Bergen as Constance, Derek’s mother, brings the humour with her spats with her daughter-in-law, Liz, while Jeff Daniels as Randy, Jimmy’s father, reveals the partial reason for Jimmy being the way he is.

With its assured balancing act between laughter, tears, anger, grief, warmth and wit, Shrinking delivers the complete package. We also learn of Paul’s childhood (and the probable reason for “Woof”?) and his early years as a therapist.

There are so many nuggets of wisdom that you immediately want to try out and the fact that none of it is heavy-handed is a major plus for the series.

The writing is stellar and the acting even more so. Ford knocks it out of the park as Paul and like season 2’s finale, his emotionally charged speech to Jimmy in the finale of season 3, brings a lemon-sized lump in the throat.

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Shrinking was originally conceived as a three-season arc according to one of the creators, Bill Lawrence. With the series being renewed for a fourth season, Lawrence has said there will be a new storyline with the same characters.

The finale of Season 3 closes the arc for all the characters delightfully and even if there is no fourth season, it would have been a perfect ending. That is not to say we do not wish to see further adventures of the therapists and their friends at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center.

Shrinking is presently streaming on Apple TV+