Shrinking

Episode Reviews

Jan. 27, 2026—S3, E1: “My Bad”

As Paul’s Parkinson’s symptoms grow more severe, he and girlfriend (and former doctor), Julie, wrestle with paperwork—giving Julie more power over Paul’s financial and medical issues. Jimmy suggests that it’d be much easier if the two just got married, and Julie thinks that’s a grand idea.

“What little girl hasn’t dreamed of getting married so that she has fewer forms to fill out?” she quips.

But as fellow therapist Gaby becomes their wildly enthusiastic wedding planner, members of their friend group begin to struggle with their own problems. Gay couple Brian and Charlie are in the middle of adopting a child, trying to figure out how much to let their expectant surrogate into their familial fold. Neighbors Liz and Derek welcome back their unemployed son. Again. And Alice—after working like crazy to get a soccer scholarship from a prestigious Northeast university—wonders whether she really wants to leave home at all.

Julie and Paul cohabitate, and we see the two of them in a bathroom together. Julie gets into the shower and exposes her bare back. Paul is shirtless. Brian and his husband, Charlie, kiss a couple of times and hold hands throughout the episode. Another male character, who’s in a relationship with an older woman, talks with that woman as she gets dressed after a roll in the hay. (We see the woman in her bra.) She says that they should end their relationship, but they agree to have a little last-minute sex before they make it official.

One of Paul’s patients seems distracted by Paul’s Parkinson’s tremors. Paul volunteers to put his hand in his lap and hide it with a blanket, but then adds, “It’d look like I’m pleasuring myself to your … troubles.”

Liz worries that her husband is having an affair. Her friends suggest that it’d be fine if he did: Liz herself had an affair, so Derek has the right to cheat—at least until a year has passed.

Several characters jokingly flirt with members of the same sex. Julie apparently talks about past sexual relationships at her bachelorette party. Characters make ribald jokes about sex, people’s mothers and Mister Rogers. Someone mentions Viagra. Liz recalls ogling the (adult) son of a friend when he worked as a stripper.

Ava—the woman acting as Brian and Charlie’s surrogate—was raised in a religious household. She says that her own room was festooned with Bible characters. “Cute angels?” Brian asks. “Cain killing Abel,” Ava says. Later, Ava mentions that her parents didn’t love each other but never divorced because they felt that “divorce is a sin.” Brian snidely says, “Good, we’re back to the God stuff.”

Gaby tells Paul and Julie that their wedding will have a secular officiant, because “priests are creepy.” Paul makes some references to the design of the universe, which someone calls “crunchy munchy spiritual crap.” (That character later admits, though, that Paul was right.)

We hear a reference to suicidal ideation.

In an effort to impress a visiting college soccer coach, Jimmy lies that Alice is actually illegitimate, that his wife had an affair with (famous soccer player) David Beckham.

Characters drink wine and champagne, and one appears to smoke a marijuana joint. Characters say the f-word about 33 times and the s-word nearly 15 times. We also hear “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “p-ssed” and “d–k.” God’s name is misused half a dozen times, twice with the word “d–n.” Jesus’ name is abused twice.

Jan. 27, 2023—S1, E2: “Fortress of Solitude”

Jimmy tries to re-involve himself in Alice’s life, but that’s not as easy as it looks: Liz, their next-door neighbor has stepped in and taken over most of his duties. Jimmy also reconnects with his best friend, Brian, whom he “ghosted” for almost a year. Meanwhile, we learn that Paul—Jimmy’s boss—has been secretly hanging out with Alice and encouraging her to give her father a second chance.

Alice is invited by one of her high school friends to join her for drinks under the bridge. “We can drink a lot,” Alice’s friend tells her, adding that she hopes to drink enough to throw up. When Alice mentions the party to Paul, the senior counselor advises the 17-year-old girl to eat dinner with her dad instead—but to feel free to go to the party if things don’t work out. (She later goes to eat and watch basketball with Paul instead.) Someone scolds Jimmy for spending his evenings drinking whiskey out of a Santa mug. (We see him do this very thing.)

We see Brian with his male spouse and their baby. We hear about a violent fight from the previous episode. Sean’s parents kick him out of the house for fighting. Taco Tuesday is called “vaguely racist.” Characters say the f-word 36 times, the s-word nearly a dozen and plenty of other profanities, too (including “a–,” “b—ch,” “h—” and “d—k”). God’s name is misused a half-dozen times, including twice with the word “d—n.”

Jan. 27, 2023—S1, E1: “Coin Flip”

After a very late night filled with too many substances, Jimmy staggers into his practice and listens to his regular clients. But something snaps in him while listening to Grace (whose husband habitually tells her that she’s dumb and would be wholly alone if she didn’t have such nice physical attributes). He tells her to leave her husband or find another counselor. She agrees to do just that. Energized, Jimmy later meets a client, Sean, who has rage issues, and takes him to a mixed martial arts gym. Meanwhile, he makes the first halting steps at trying to repair his relationship with his daughter, Alice.

Jimmy’s late night included two women who were likely prostitutes. (When he denies it to a neighbor, the neighbor asks whether he paid them to be there with him. “Not yet,” Jimmy admits.) The two are in a pool in their underwear (though Jimmy insists they’re wearing swimsuits). Several liquor bottles sit on a table, and Jimmy admits that a nearby bowl holds “Adderall. Maybe some painkillers.”

Grace sports cleavage and discusses how her husband likes her breasts (using a crasser word for them). After someone punches Sean in the face, Sean beats the aggressor viciously. (We later see Sean and another man tending to bloody wounds on their faces, while Sean’s victim is taken to an ambulance.) We see a brief glimpse of a photo of one of Sean’s other victims. (The man’s face is clearly bloodied and swollen in various places.) We learn that Sean served in the military and that his time overseas was filled with “trauma and violence.” There’s a reference to a famous suicide victim.

Jimmy admits that he got drunk and high during his late-night escapade. We hear a number of crass colloquialisms involving genitals and sex acts. We see a guy without a shirt. We hear 42 f-words, another 16 s-words and loads of other profanities, including “a–,” “b—ch,” “crap,” “h—,” “d—k,” “p-ssed” and “t-ts.” God’s name is misused twice, and Jesus’ name is abused once.