Shrinking

Lovely, tender, and often heartbreaking, this series features characters in realistic struggles, trying and sometimes succeeding in reaching each other to offer connections and comfort. Jimmy is struggling, it's true: He's lost touch with his daughter and his colleagues and neighbors veer between dismay and disgust when they see what a mess he's become. But then Jimmy discovers one of the great truths of life: Fulfillment and happiness can be found in helping others. He orders one patient to leave her emotionally abusive husband; he forcibly enrolls another in an amateur boxing club in hopes of giving him a healthy outlet for his post-military service anger and pain. It might be unethical according to the strictures of therapy (which a colleague warns him about, repeatedly and portentously), but it's working: His patients are making changes in their lives, and Jimmy is, too.

Jason Segel is sad-eyed and relatable, as he always is; he's an easy actor to love. His chemistry with a salty, sarcastic Harrison Ford is something to see as well, particularly in the moments when Ford's reserve melts into softheartedness for a man that's just about the right age to be his son. The rest of the cast, too, is stocked with realistically imperfect characters you'll want to know: Jimmy's impatient neighbors Liz (Christa Miller) and Derek (Ted McGinley), his troubled patient Sean (Luke Tennie), and tough, sad daughter Alice. Fans of Ted Lasso, which shares a production team with Shrinking, will recognize the writers' humanity and easy humor, which makes Shrinking a worthy second act to the universally beloved Lasso.