Season 01

[SoMuchTV]

8 hours ago, Good Queen Jane said:

I wonder if the Heidi Gardiner character will blame the push on Jimmy which will result in either a criminal charge or an ethics investigation.

I’ve seen enough shows with fake out fantasy or dream scenes that I was fully expecting them to walk that back. I guess we’ll see next season?

[Emcber]

8 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I’ve seen enough shows with fake out fantasy or dream scenes that I was fully expecting them to walk that back. I guess we’ll see next season?

Yeah I was thinking that it was a bit too broad even for this show. I think either it won’t be that big of a fall, or like you said have it be a dream sequence. 

[Skyfall]

8 hours ago, DEL901 said:

They planned well.  If they didn’t get a renewal, they could just clip that part out. 

Shit, I would've left it in anyway. It showed the character's growth and everyone could just assume what would happen next.

[Harvey]

I heard so much praise for this show, I finally watched ep 1 today and it was SO boring and stupid. And not one bit funny. Christa Miller was the only redeeming factor about whatever this tried to be. I don't know if I should stick with it or just give up, feeling very conflicted right now.

[SoMuchTV]

16 minutes ago, Harvey said:

I heard so much praise for this show, I finally watched ep 1 today and it was SO boring and stupid. And not one bit funny. Christa Miller was the only redeeming factor about whatever this tried to be. I don't know if I should stick with it or just give up, feeling very conflicted right now.

I was meh at first but it grew on me as it went along. I guess it depends on what your competing options are. If there are other things you definitely want to do or watch, go for that. If you’re looking for a show you might enjoy to fill your downtime, this could be it for you. 

[chocolatine]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I really liked Jimmy's speech although it started out so cringe. He and Alice looked so happy dancing together at the end.

I thought it was incredibly inappropriate of him to bring up his dead wife, but then it made sense when he said that she had introduced the grooms.

Regarding the ending, I'm 99.99% percent certain that when Grace is arrested, the first thing out of her mouth will be "my therapist told me to do it" and the second season will deal with the fallout of that.

[DEL901]

7 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I thought it was incredibly inappropriate of him to bring up his dead wife, but then it made sense when he said that she had introduced the grooms.

Regarding the ending, I'm 99.99% percent certain that when Grace is arrested, the first thing out of her mouth will be "my therapist told me to do it" and the second season will deal with the fallout of that.

I agree.  When she was telling him about the eggs and her fantasy about pushing the guy off the cliff, he was happy/supportive because he thought it meant she was ready to stand up for herself, not commit murder.

[iMonrey]

14 hours ago, Harvey said:

I heard so much praise for this show, I finally watched ep 1 today and it was SO boring and stupid. And not one bit funny. Christa Miller was the only redeeming factor about whatever this tried to be. I don't know if I should stick with it or just give up, feeling very conflicted right now.

Since all the episodes are available now you have the option of binging, so I'd say give it a couple more episodes. It's one of those things that has to grow on you. I wasn't bowled over by it at first but by the end I really liked it.

[DEL901]

53 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Since all the episodes are available now you have the option of binging, so I'd say give it a couple more episodes. It's one of those things that has to grow on you. I wasn't bowled over by it at first but by the end I really liked it.

Ditto

[Harvey]

16 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I was meh at first but it grew on me as it went along. I guess it depends on what your competing options are. If there are other things you definitely want to do or watch, go for that. If you’re looking for a show you might enjoy to fill your downtime, this could be it for you. 

 

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Since all the episodes are available now you have the option of binging, so I'd say give it a couple more episodes. It's one of those things that has to grow on you. I wasn't bowled over by it at first but by the end I really liked it.

 

1 hour ago, DEL901 said:

Ditto

Yeah I watched the whole thing yesterday.

I wish the show spent more time on that guy who complained about dating shallow women. In episode 3 we see him do better in dating after his therapist makes him realize what he is doing wrong. All of this happens in maybe 45 seconds of screen time, but that would have been a very compelling storyline about self-reflection and getting out of your bad patterns if we were allowed to see it.

I will say, Liz was my main reason for sticking with this show. She is an absolute delight and that "rock tumbling" hobby sounds very interesting. I wish we got some close-up shots of the finished rocks she creates, I am sure they look beautiful.

[TVbitch]

This is the kind of show that I don't think too much about, but enjoy watching (or sometimes hate watching 😁). It kind of reminds me of Somebody Somewhere, Life and Beth, Sort Of, Better Things, etc., where the characters are a bit too cool and quippy to be real, and often make improbable and unrealistic choices that somehow work out or don't have too many consequences. It's not terribly realistic, but I can still appreciate the characters in their TV world. 

[Enigma X]

I enjoyed this show. It entertained me and had the right amount of "heart" for me.

[SoMuchTV]

3 hours ago, TVbitch said:

This is the kind of show that I don't think too much about, but enjoy watching (or sometimes hate watching 😁). It kind of reminds me of Somebody Somewhere, Life and Beth, Sort Of, Better Things, etc., where the characters are a bit too cool and quippy to be real, and often make improbable and unrealistic choices that somehow work out or don't have too many consequences. It's not terribly realistic, but I can still appreciate the characters in their TV world. 

Ooh, interesting. I’ve watched three of those four. Apparently I should check out the fourth. 

FWIW I posted a while back on Sort Of:

Quote

It would probably appeal to people who liked Everything's Gonna Be Okay, Maybe Better Things, Shrill, Please Like Me, Dollface...  Awkward family stuff, non-"mainstream" characters.  IMDB says it's a comedy, but it's definitely not a LOL comedy.

 I can see how Shrinking could be in the same bucket. 

Edited March 25, 2023 by SoMuchTV
Can't figure out how to insert a quote box on my phone so added it later on pc.

[Eureka]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Since all the episodes are available now you have the option of binging, so I'd say give it a couple more episodes. It's one of those things that has to grow on you. I wasn't bowled over by it at first but by the end I really liked it.

Same, we watched week by week and the first two didn’t make me feel like I wished they had all dropped at once. But by the third one I really started liking it.

[aghst]

I think of a show like Better Things, which was lavishly praised.

Shrinking isn't that different, though the antics on Shinking just isn't believable the way real people would talk with friends and co-workers, unless they were on shrooms or something.

They show scenes from life and a bit of their working lives, just like BT did.  The co-workers are just too intertwined in their personal lives though.  I can see occasional social gatherings but it appears they see each other almost every day outside of the office and not only that, Jimmy's colleagues are hanging all the time with Alice and Liz and now they throw Sean into the mix, a patient.

No such things as boundaries.

Maybe that's deliberate, they don't compartmentalize like the rest of us have to.  I can't recall if Paul knows Jimmy and Gaby slept together or that they're continuing to sleep together.  Some employers are okay with that but in a small office with a handful of colleagues, that has to be potentially messy.

[chocolatine]

5 minutes ago, aghst said:

I think of a show like Better Things, which was lavishly praised.

Shrinking isn't that different, though the antics on Shinking just isn't believable the way real people would talk with friends and co-workers, unless they were on shrooms or something.

None of the characters on Shrinking annoy me nearly as much as the daughters on Better Things did, not even Liz.

[juno]

11 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

None of the characters on Shrinking annoy me nearly as much as the daughters on Better Things did, not even Liz.

Holy Crap Batman, you are 110.5% correct there. I had to stop watching that show because the daughters were so completely horrible.

[debraran]

Sometimes shows start off good and then fall off or if you give them a couple of episodes get better. I am watching last one today but it was fine for filling in as someone said when I was multi-tasking and didn't need the "only thing I'm doing" right now attention. The neighbor got to annoy me after thinking she was funny and I agree, it's way too unbelievable his daughter wants to spend that much time with them. Even alone trumps the neighbor. ; )

I like Ted Lasso and don't love every episode but something always draws me back in. I think I just would love his character in real life so other annoying things are pushed down. I like Harrison Ford so I ignore a scene or two that makes me cringe.

So many shows on Netflix and Amazon, I started out liking, Workin Mom's, Grace and Frankie, Good Girls. Some I watched past season 3, some I just couldn't. I will see Workin Mom's end whenever it comes back, but the beginning to me was the best. Grace and Frankie, I just couldn't. Watched the last to finish it in my mind.

I love Call the Midlwife, but that's not a sitcom and not for everyone but kept me waiting every year for new episodes. (season 12 now)

We have so much now to pick from, and so much is not the quality it should be and they don't care because another is right behind. I'm glad Shrinking had me coming back at least, wish it was just a little bit better with such good actors.

[Crs97]

The neighbor doesn’t bother me as much as she seems to for everyone else.  I can see Alice spending time with her because she has been the one motherly constant for her in her grief.  Her world revolved around Alice for that year.  Is she someone I would want to hang out with?  Nope, but then none of them are (with the exception of Paul’s doctor as she’s been portrayed so far).

[Chatty Cake]

I enjoyed this show and laughed a lot throughout. I did find that a little of Liz went a long way. Also the way her and Gabby became so close so quickly and all the “love you” crap seemed a bit over the top as did Liz demanding a letter of recommendation for Gabby.

Overall though I found it pretty entertaining. 

 

[BusyOctober]

I like 99% the main characters, & secondary and tertiary roles.  I can’t take much of Christa Miller or her character.  I find Liz unfunny, aggressive, abrasive, overly intrusive and just unlikeable.  I think the actress isn’t a great performer, never liked her in all of her husband’s other shows.  She should stop with the fillers and the eye lift surgery ASAP.  The fillers must have done something to her facial muscles because she sounds like she has difficulty speaking certain words. 
 

Can we please get a show put together with Jessica Williams, Ayo Edebiri, Quinta Brunson & Janelle James immediately? And Sheryl Lee Ralph can be their mom?

[overtherainbow]

It did feel very one and done, doesn't seem like it needs a second season. 

[RedInk]

On 3/24/2023 at 11:57 AM, aghst said:

It's odd, she wasn't bad on Scrubs or the short appearance on Seinfeld.  Her scenes were limited and she played this unattainable woman who browbeat men who were supposedly awed by her beauty or something.

Well she also played Ellie on Bill Lawrence’s Cougar Town (criminally underrated show IMO), and it’s basically the same exact character she’s doing here. An asshole with a soft spot. I love her though, so I don’t care. It does remind me of the Judd Apatow/Leslie Mann dynamic, and I wonder if they’re kind of playing themselves. 
 

I'm in a weird minority because I love everything that Lawrence has ever made EXCEPT Ted Lasso. I like that the Shrinking characters are complicated, and a little bizarre, and like people I’d want to know in real life. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by RedInk

[Blakeston]

I just binged this, and overall I enjoyed it and found it very watchable. I nonetheless have a lot to complain about. 😄

Around episode 8, the dialogue suddenly just got to me. The way that almost all of the characters were constantly mocking each other and gloating became unbearable all at once. It hit me that the style of writing was phony and contrived and repetitive, on top of being obnoxious. 

Liz was awful, for the reasons so many have already mentioned. (You're not just "a lot" and "opinionated," Liz, you're insufferably smug.) In the early episodes, when she was helping out so much with Alice, I thought maybe Liz wasn't the same character Christa Miller always plays - but no such luck. (You'd think Bill Lawrence would want to show the world that his wife can play something other than snarky and venomous, but maybe she can't?) Derek telling her that she needed to get out of the house was the best part of the season.

I really didn't care for Brian, either. The "everything goes my way" thing was cringe, and the way he wanted to propose was horrifying. When he described himself as "human Zoloft" i was thinking, "No, you're just a narcissist."

Another problem - I just didn't buy a lot of the relationships. Gaby was too cool for this crowd. Why would she want to spend so much time with Liz, of all people? She would have a ton of cool friends her own age. And I can't buy her being overtaken by romantic feelings for Jimmy at the wedding, either.

As much as I appreciate them showing that a straight guy and a gay guy can be friends, I didn't buy Jimmy and Brian as BFFs, either. They had nothing in common.

Then there's money. Jimmy's lifestyle was over the top. His wife was a stay-at-home mom. I know there are some therapists who make very good money, but I didn't buy this schlub being so successful in his early 40s that he'd be able to afford that gazillion dollar home and poolhouse. I wish there had been a line about him or his wife being a trust fund baby.

One other thing I didn't buy - Sean being 22.

On the plus side, it was great seeing Harrison Ford do deadpan comedy. Jessica Williams stole every scene she was in, and Derek was a ray of sunshine. Alice's friend Summer was great, too - I wish we could have seen more of her. The VA housing line was the funniest thing I heard all season.

In the end, it seemed like almost everyone's story had been told. The only threads hanging were Grace, and Gaby wanting Jimmy. I have to wonder if this would have been better as a miniseries.

[Corgi-ears]

3 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I have to wonder if this would have been better as a miniseries.

The great thing about the medium that is television is that anything can be a miniseries if we watch it that way 😂

[debraran]

On 3/31/2023 at 9:13 PM, Blakeston said:

 
 

On the plus side, it was great seeing Harrison Ford do deadpan comedy. Jessica Williams stole every scene she was in, and Derek was a ray of sunshine. Alice's friend Summer was great, too - I wish we could have seen more of her. The VA housing line was the funniest thing I heard all season.

In the end, it seemed like almost everyone's story had been told. The only threads hanging were Grace, and Gaby wanting Jimmy. I have to wonder if this would have been better as a miniseries.

I watched it over 4 days and I agree with most of what you said too. I think Harrison saved it for me, the scenes with him were funny but more "real". I didn't like Gaby and Jimmy, too pat, too forced in a way and I thought being good friends with his wife, it was a little creepy (although that same thing happens)I don't see her wanting him that much and just using him like a vibrator to suddenly think "hey maybe he isn't uncomplicated" Bleh.

I don't know Liz very well, she's the wife of the producer? She's funny in small doses, some shows make the mistake of using the comic relief too much. Did she have plastic surgery, I find myself looking at her and something seems "off". Not important but it's distracting for me oddly.

Edited April 2, 2023 by debraran

[aussieinsydney]

I'm four episodes in and I want to like this show, but yeah, I'm out. It's not as exciting to me as the hype around it.

[Blakeston]

On 4/2/2023 at 7:01 AM, debraran said:

I don't know Liz very well, she's the wife of the producer? She's funny in small doses, some shows make the mistake of using the comic relief too much. Did she have plastic surgery, I find myself looking at her and something seems "off". Not important but it's distracting for me oddly.

Yes, she's the wife of the producer, and she's clearly had a lot of work done. Her face is just as smooth as it was 20 years ago on Scrubs - but the bottom half of her face is drastically different. It's very distracting.

[TV Diva Queen]

On 3/31/2023 at 11:57 PM, Corgi-ears said:

The great thing about the medium that is television is that anything can be a miniseries if we watch it that way 😂

Or a 10 hour movie (which is what I tell myself when I binge)  

[BetyBee]

We finished it last night, so I can finally read here. I absolutely loved this show! I laughed so much, especially at Gaby and Harrison Ford. I love that all of the characters showed growth by the end....well, except for Heidi Gardner's character! The wedding was just lovely. Even Brian's Dad grew in his acceptance of his son. I'm looking forward to Season 2.

[DEL901]

I just read that Jason Segal is trying to convince Brett Goldstein to appear in season 2.  

[Anela]

Oh boy, she really pushed her husband off a cliff.

[retired watcher]

I just finished and I love this show. Gaby is my favorite but I like everyone. Glad it's coming back.

[Ilovepie]

Finished it, but I'm torn. There are a lot of funny moments and heart warming moments. All of the characters have scenes where I like them, and then scenes where I don't. Overall, it was good, but......

Most of the shows I watch are TV-MA, so it's not like I am clutching my pearls over here, but I am in that minority that just found the constant f-bombs and crude remarks too much. They all talk like I would expect Alice's teen friends to speak, not middle aged professionals. I just don't like that much casual profanity for no reason, and it's so constant on this show that I find it distracting and unpleasant.

Derek is my favorite. Every moment he was on screen was delightful.

Was just waiting for the patient to push her bf over the cliff - you just knew it was going to happen.....

Glad someone finally explained to Paul what "raw dog" means, although I think that joke could have gone on longer if they wanted as I will never not laugh at Harrison Ford saying that phrase inappropriately to Liz....

[Eureka]

3 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

Finished it, but I'm torn. There are a lot of funny moments and heart warming moments. All of the characters have scenes where I like them, and then scenes where I don't. Overall, it was good, but......

Most of the shows I watch are TV-MA, so it's not like I am clutching my pearls over here, but I am in that minority that just found the constant f-bombs and crude remarks too much. They all talk like I would expect Alice's teen friends to speak, not middle aged professionals. I just don't like that much casual profanity for no reason, and it's so constant on this show that I find it distracting and unpleasant.

Derek is my favorite. Every moment he was on screen was delightful.

Was just waiting for the patient to push her bf over the cliff - you just knew it was going to happen.....

Glad someone finally explained to Paul what "raw dog" means, although I think that joke could have gone on longer if they wanted as I will never not laugh at Harrison Ford saying that phrase inappropriately to Liz....

My husband (who normally isn’t bothered by language) said he thought all the f-bombs were just not realistic, that they wouldn’t all talk to each other like that all the time. And it makes sense, normally, not everyone you interact with uses the same type to language - at least not everyone I talk to doesn’t use “f” every other word.

1 hour ago, Eureka said:

Sorry, something weird happened when I tried to edit.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Eureka

[luna1122again]

I guess my friends and I are all just potty mouths. I don't even notice the swearing on this show. Or, the only time I notice is when Alice swears at Jimmy cuz though I always swore like a sailor, and learned at my granddaddy's knee...it didn't fly around my mom. Still doesn't. 

 

[DEL901]

I wrote the f-bombs off to effing Roy Kent being one of the creators and writers.  

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, DEL901 said:

I wrote the f-bombs off to effing Roy Kent being one of the creators and writers.  

Yeah, and I do watch Ted Lasso and honestly Roy Kent's entire dialogue many times is just "Fuck". And that doesn't bother me because it fits the scrappy crabby footballer who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. But these bougie middle age people? I don't buy it. It doesn't enhance the show or the dialogue for them all to talk like that, in fact, it was a big distraction for me.

[Crs97]

I didn’t think the language was realistic at all until my husband watched a couple episodes of the golf documentary.  Those golfers seem quite attached to the f-bomb.

[Ilovepie]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

I didn’t think the language was realistic at all until my husband watched a couple episodes of the golf documentary.  Those golfers seem quite attached to the f-bomb.

Well, I think all bets are off in sports, especially golf - my husband said he was never as frustrated playing any sport the way he was with golf! ;-p

[Crs97]

This wasn’t them on the course.  This was them shopping for strollers and hanging out.

[Quickbeam]

Just watched the pilot. Jason Segel just doesn’t work for me in this role. I also didn’t think this needed Harrison Ford as stunt casting. I read about how Brett Goldstein got him for the part but I don’t think he really adds much to it. I won’t be watching any more. 

[DEL901]

2 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Just watched the pilot. Jason Segel just doesn’t work for me in this role. I also didn’t think this needed Harrison Ford as stunt casting. I read about how Brett Goldstein got him for the part but I don’t think he really adds much to it. I won’t be watching any more. 

You should give it a chance…Harrison Ford is hilarious. 

[Quickbeam]

On 6/5/2023 at 4:29 PM, DEL901 said:

You should give it a chance…Harrison Ford is hilarious. 

Ok, I watched more. I love Ted McGinley. And he’s perfect in this, throwing 1% of all possible energy into a nice guy part. And he looks great. 

[AheadofStraight]

On 6/5/2023 at 5:29 PM, DEL901 said:

You should give it a chance…Harrison Ford is hilarious. 

It's worth it just to hear Harrison Ford say "raw dogging"! 😄

[IntrovertRed]

Just finished this (got free Apple for three months) and I LOVE this show.  The cast gels so well together. Harrison Ford seems to be having fun, he’s had some of the funniest lines. Still so jarring for me to see him the same age as my dad cuz I will always irrationally remember him as Han Solo from Empire Strikes Back. Jessica Williams is fantastic in every scene. I saw where she and Jimmy were going, but I don’t hate it. Also sorta got used to Christa Miller’s face, but she seriously needs to stop. Oh and Michael Urie! I haven’t seen him since Ugly Betty (though I’m sure he’s worked since then), he’s great too. I was even happily surprised by Jason’s acting. 

So happy it was renewed for a second season, although not at all crazy about that last scene, seemed a little too dark.

Edited September 28, 2023 by IntrovertRed

[mostlylurking]

I loved it.  Harrison Ford was hysterical.  Jason Segal kind of annoys me but he was great in this.  I loved the entire cast but Ted McKinley was just awesome, he made the best out of a small role.  I didn’t notice any weird plastic surgery on neighbor Liz but I’m also unfamiliar with the actress and don’t know what she looked like before.  I liked that she was a wife and mom and that wasn’t made into a whole “thing”.  That’s a perfectly acceptable choice.

I don’t really see that many ethics violations other than Sean going to live with his therapist.  In real life we don’t see what’s really going on in people’s personal lives so it’s very likely if we did we would probably not agree with everything we saw.  It seemed to me they kept it professional when in client sessions.  As far as Jimmy telling the girl he couldn’t see her anymore if she stayed with her boyfriend, I saw nothing wrong with it.  He didn’t feel he could help her anymore so why keep seeing her and taking her money?  Let he find another therapist who could be more helpful.
 

[Irlandesa]

On 3/24/2023 at 11:08 AM, DEL901 said:

They planned well.  If they didn’t get a renewal, they could just clip that part out. 

This is from a while ago but I finally got AppleTV for a brief period to watch some of the shows that intrigued me, this one included.  This statement is about Heidi's character pushing her husband off the cliff.  They could have clipped that part out but I found it to be very cathartic.  I'm sure there will be follow up in S2 but I still think this would have worked even without a renewal.  It would have left us with questions but I would have felt satisfied. 

On 2/6/2024 at 12:19 PM, mostlylurking said:

I don’t really see that many ethics violations other than Sean going to live with his therapist.

He followed/stalked one of his clients on the client's date without letting him know.  He also gave Heidi an ultimatum that she needed to leave her husband. I don't know if that would be an ethics violation but I'd guess it's far from standard practice. I'm also guessing it's not standard practice to visit a client's home or break into a stadium with another client and tell him to spread his mother's ashes.

This is fiction and so it doesn't get in the way of my enjoyment of the show but it's pretty unethical.  As is Paul's doctor sleeping with him. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I'm glad we'll get more.