The main comedic component of Shrinking has been problematic for me for some time now. The premise of the series is to make us laugh when a therapist (Jason Seigel), frustrated with the delay in the therapeutic process, decides to do exactly what is “forbidden”: suggest, give opinions, and interfere in the lives of his patients. In other words, he is irresponsible and even criminal, but all for a laugh. With so many mental health problems around the world, how can they turn the long, time-consuming, and relevant work of psychoanalysis into a joke?

Apple TV Plus seems to be having fun: even before releasing the second season, which premiered this week, it has already confirmed that there will be a third. The creative team has relevant titles as reference, from Ted Lasso to How I Met Your Mother, but it is disappointing to me that they were so accurate with the American coach and the themes they addressed in the deservedly award-winning series and now they do such a disservice.

The big scare of the first season is precisely when a patient pushes her abusive husband off a hill precisely following the recommendation of her psychoanalyst. Instead of taking a turn and “fixing” the path, we open the season with the woman in prison, but the analyst? Free, without consequences, and still creating problems. In theory, making us laugh.

To be fair, Jimmy (Seigel) goes through several serious personal problems, having been widowed with a teenage daughter and dealing with difficulty with both grief and work. He has a boss and mentor in Paul (Harrison Ford) who finally confronts him about the crime he is committing with his patients. It’s one thing to be unconventional and another to be unethical, as Shrinking has been showing.

So, at least in the opening, Jimmy is trying to try something different, but within the limits of psychoanalysis. Yes, it becomes less “funny”. A trap created by the showrunners themselves.

What we see as an “eccentric technique” has become an addiction for Jimmy, and will be the central part of his evolution. The rest of the cast, although they are in tune, don’t have much of a role. But is it unwatchable? Not at all. But someone at Apple needs a lot of therapy. Freud explains investing in this madness…

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