Shrinking

Available on Apple TV+

Conversations with a trusted therapist can be as comforting as a warm blanket, or as daunting as a chance encounter with one’s greatest phobia, and this is an emotional seesaw that Shrinking navigates well for the most part.

Created by Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, the show follows Jason Segal’s recently widowed counsellor, who seeks to navigate his own grief by practising radical honesty with his patients, despite the ethical quandary such an approach poses.

Segal, also on co-writing duties here, is a fine comic and unsurprisingly effective in the lead role, though he is arguably outshone by co-stars Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford, with the latter especially elevating proceedings in a rare small-screen outing.

Shrinking also benefits from a dependable supporting cast, with Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, and Christa Miller all sparkling at various points in the series’ ten-episode arc.

The real stars of the show are, however, Lawrence and Goldstein, who prove that their propensity for intelligent, emotionally affecting comedy is not confined to Ted Lasso. Like the warm confines of said blanket, their writing makes for a comforting and soothing experience, and it is therefore unsurprising to learn that Apple has already ordered up a second series of this charming show.