Shrinking season 4 is a whole new story
While Ted Lasso has become the global phenomenon it deserves to be, Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein’s other Apple TV dramedy, Shrinking, remains criminally underrated.
Shrinking is still just seen as Ted Lasso’s lesser-known cousin, but it’s a great show in its own right. It has the same uplifting, feel-good tone as Ted Lasso, inspiring hope in the face of adversity, but it takes place in a very different world. Whereas Ted Lasso is about an English football team, Shrinking is about a trio of American psychiatrists with conflicting ideologies.
Whereas Ted Lasso is about bad dads and the pain of divorce, Shrinking is all about grief. Over the past three seasons, Shrinking has told a touching tale about a father and daughter mourning the sudden passing of the daughter’s mother. When we meet Jimmy, he’s not handling his grief well, and it’s driving his daughter Alice away. Those initial three seasons followed Jimmy and Alice’s separate journeys to deal with the loss and reconcile their relationship.
It was an emotional rollercoaster, but it reached a hard-earned happy ending in the season 3 finale. Of course, Apple knows when it’s got a good thing going, so it’s renewed Shrinking for season 4. While it risks undoing the finality of season 3’s ending, the writers seem to be taking all the right measures to avoid disaster.
Michael Urie, who plays Jimmy’s best friend Brian, has confirmed that Shrinking season 4 will kick off with a two-year time jump, essentially starting a fresh, new story with the same characters. Why A Time Jump Is The Best Direction For Shrinking Season 4 Doing a time jump and telling a completely different story is the best way to approach the future of Shrinking.
The cast’s chemistry is still so good, and there’s so much juice left in the tank, that it would be foolish to end Shrinking now, or even continue it with a different ensemble full of no-shows and newcomers. But the season 3 finale felt like a series finale, leaving all the characters in a good place and setting them up for an exciting new chapter in their lives.
So, if the show was going to continue, embracing a multi-year jump and focusing on new stories for these characters makes the most sense. Funnily enough, Ted Lasso is doing the same thing this summer. It’s coming back for a fourth season, after a third season that felt like a final season, and telling a brand-new story with the same characters.
Whereas Ted Lasso is replacing its supporting cast with Richmond’s new women’s team, Lawrence has stressed that Shrinking season 4 will feature “the EXACT same cast. ” So, even though Alice is at college, she’ll still be a part of the main cast. Even though Paul moved away, he’ll still be a part of the main cast, and that’s a massive relief.
Shrinking Season 4's Time Jump Still Comes With Risks A time jump is the best way to go, but Shrinking’s fourth season could still go horribly wrong. It could fall into the trap of repeating old storylines. The new narrative hook might not be as strong as the grief over Tia’s death in the first three seasons, and as this new story begins, that grief might get forgotten about.
It still has to strike the right balance between following up on the existing story threads and making a narrative stamp of its own, and that’ll be a tricky balance to pull off. Subscribe for Smart TV Takes on Shrinking and More Looking for smarter TV analysis? Subscribe to the newsletter to follow Shrinking's next chapter and broader storytelling trends, with thoughtful breakdowns, cast context, and perspective that helps you see what a time-jump means for a show.
Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Shrinking is coming back with a new premise, but what if that new premise doesn’t connect like the old one did? If the dynamics and characters are too different, it will be difficult for fans who loved the first three seasons to get on board with it.
Just look at what happened when Euphoria turned from a teen soap opera into a Tarantino neo-western. 110 9.1/10 9/10 Shrinking 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Comedy Drama Release Date January 27, 2023 Network Apple TV Showrunner Bill Lawrence Directors Bill Lawrence Writers Brett Goldstein, Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel 10 Images Close Cast See All In this series, a therapist grappling with personal tragedy begins to employ a radically candid approach with his clients and in his personal life. As he navigates his roles as a father, friend, and professional, his newfound method leads to unexpected consequences and self-discovery. Powered by Expand Collapse
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