Jason Segel's therapeutic comedy is making good progress in Season 2

Five minutes into the second season premiere of shrinkageGrumpy octogenarian therapist Paul (Harrison Ford) tries to avoid a difficult conversation with his colleague Gaby (Jessica Williams) by turning on the car radio and singing along to The Outfield's 1985 smash “Your Love.” It's a direct callback to the most talked-about moment of Season 1 – Harrison Ford singing Sugar Ray! – But shrinkage wants us to know that it is evolving.

“Hell no! “We’re not doing that today,” complains Gaby, turns off the radio and returns to the topic that Paul wanted to avoid.

In Season 2 of the feel-good comedy — starring Jason Segel as a therapist who seeks radical honesty with his patients — everyone is forced to confront some harsh truths in the hopes of moving past them. Based on the seven episodes (out of 12) provided for review, shrinkage is willing to let its characters push beyond the boundaries of its original, conceptual premise, resulting in satisfying (and funny) self-realization.

The new episodes begin shortly after we left off 18 months ago. Widowed therapist and father Jimmy Laird (Segel) is finally doing well with his teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell), but his new therapy style is not without consequences. After pushing her abusive husband Donny (Tilky Jones) off a cliff last season, Jimmy's patient Grace (Heidi Gardner) is languishing in prison. And Jimmy realizes that he's blurring the lines between friendship and therapy with his patient Sean (Luke Tennie) – a young veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder and anger issues – which is preventing him from making real progress.

Jimmy's counterparts have their own problems. As his Parkinson's disease progresses, Paul worries about being a burden to his girlfriend Julie (Wendie Malick), a former neurologist, while Gaby admits she wants more from her no-strings-attached relationship with Jimmy.

Created by Segel, Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, shrinkage spent most of the first season letting Jimmy's adventures (and misadventures) in No Filter Therapy drive the story. It's a fun hook, but not a particularly lasting one, and in the new episodes Lawrence and company have the confidence to delve deeper into all of the main characters' themes. Jimmy's best friend Brian (Michael Urie) panics about parenthood after his husband Charlie (Devin Kawaoka) comes up with the idea of ​​adopting a baby. Gaby argues with her sister (Courtney Taylor) about how best to deal with her aging mother (Vernee Watson) and her failing eyesight. Alice makes a misjudgment that upsets her best friend Summer (Rachel Stubington, in a standout turn). And Sean has no idea how to deal with his long-simmering grudge against his father (Kenajuan Bentley) after the two unexpectedly get back together.

The writers find it a little more difficult to agree on a storyline for Liz (Christa Miller), Jimmy's bossy neighbor. Midway through the season, her story begins to revolve around an idea that I would tentatively describe as “ill-advised.” The biggest problem so far shrinkage Season 2 shows how much time is devoted to the Jimmy-Gabby situation, which in Season 1 felt more like a throw-at-the-wall plot device than something worth exploring further. This time, the consequences of their interactions with friends on benefits seem designed more to create conflict than to develop their characters. “I’m so bored with this shit,” groans Paul after another tense interaction between Jimmy and Gaby in the office. “Everyone is.” Right.

Otherwise, the new episodes deliver plenty of the dynamic that worked so well in Season 1: the deepening friendship between Gaby and Liz based on telling the truth and making fun of Jimmy; Paul and Jimmy's escapades between reason and emotion; and Ted McGinley – as Liz's affable Zen husband Derek – with anyone. The scene-stealing actor has a stronger presence in Season 2 (including an all-too-brief moment with Ford), but honestly, it's not enough.

shrinkage While it occasionally goes straight for the tear ducts, the series excels at infusing heavy moments with ridiculous humor. (See: Jimmy argues with Paul after losing two of his front teeth. “I didn't argue with Thean. He's my biggest success story!”) Segel can make the pronunciation of a single word funny (his variation of “underwear.” ” is a hoot), and his standout co-stars are thriving with their increased screen time. Nobody throws a tantrum like Urie, and Williams has perfect comedic and romantic chemistry with Damon Wayans Jr., who joins the cast as Derek's boyfriend, also named Derek. And yes, co-creator/writer Brett Goldstein also makes several appearances this season, but Apple TV+ would much prefer if I didn't tell you who he's playing. (The role is about as far from Roy Kent as you can get.)

“Listen, man, triggers are everywhere,” Jimmy tells Sean in the season premiere. “You can't hide from your past forever.” It's foreshadowing, of course – for Jimmy and pretty much everyone around him. This season, however shrinkage reminds us that hard truths are usually no match for hope. Grade: B+

shrinkage Season two premieres Wednesday, October 16, with two episodes on Apple TV+.