This wholesome comedy is still the warmest hug on TV.

If you're looking for a feel-good television show that may also occasionally make you cry, look no further. Shrinking is here. This show feels like a cross between Ted Lasso and Scrubs. But more accurately, it feels like a warm hug wrapped in a TV show. 

In the midst of the current prestige TV era — it's all high stakes and heartbreak — Shrinking carves out a unique space that falls somewhere in between a comedy and life-affirming drama.

It asks a dangerous question: what happens if a therapist… just loses it? It's a show that lives in the uncomfortable, often hilarious friction between professional ethics and human messiness.

Watch: The trailer for Shrinking season 3. Article continues after video.

While traditional therapy relies on a degree of objectivity from the therapist, the series explores the fallout when Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) — following the death of his wife — decides to bulldoze through those boundaries, offering his patients — and himself — a raw, unfiltered honesty that is as reckless as it is transformative.

The narrative magic, however, isn't just in his crazy therapeutic methods but in the relatable debris of everyday life. Between the sharp barbs traded with a Parkinson's-battling Paul (Harrison Ford) and the delicate rebuilding of a father-daughter bond, the show argues that healing isn't a linear path found in a textbook. 

Instead, it's a collaborative, often clumsy effort. It positions grief not as a problem to be solved, but as a permanent, ever-changing journey.

Image: Apple TV+

I want to start off by saying that this is one of my favourite shows on TV right now. I was a huge Ted Lasso fan and Shrinking is exactly that (no surprises there since they're made by the same co-creator). 

The show is the perfect combination of unfiltered chaos and profound empathy, and is constantly toeing the line of heartbreaking tragedy and absolute absurdity. It's bittersweet and will have you laughing in one moment to crying in another. 

Season 3 shifts its focus toward the concept of moving forward. While the first two seasons were anchored in the immediate, raw aftermath of Jimmy's grief, the new episodes explore the terrifying reality of what happens when the dust settles and life demands you keep walking.

Part of that walking forward involves a major blast from the past for the sitcom nerds among us. For all the How I Met Your Mother fans, Marshall Eriksen and Robin Scherbatsky are the duo we didn't know we needed to see again until now.

Shrinking Season 3 brings together Segel and Cobie Smulders once again through an earnest, sweet budding romance between Jimmy and Sofi. And the chemistry is everything.

This season, the theme of found family is pushed to its limits. Jimmy is navigating the idea of potential new romances, testing whether he can truly imagine himself being happy again without the weight of guilt.

Meanwhile, the household dynamic is shifting as his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) prepares for the ultimate transition: leaving for college. It's a season about the next steps — the ones that are often scarier than the initial fall.

The emotional highlight of the season is undoubtedly the appearance of Michael J. Fox. Returning to the screen for a guest arc, Fox plays Gerry, a patient Paul meets in a doctor's office waiting room.

Image: Apple TV+

The chemistry between Fox and Ford is electric and deeply moving. In a standout scene, Gerry — who is further along in his journey with Parkinson's — challenges Paul's stoicism and pessimistic outlook on life. 

It's a meta-moment that transcends the script. Seeing these two icons share the screen to discuss a condition they have both navigated (Ford through his character, Fox in reality) provides a level of authenticity rarely seen on television. It's quite emotional seeing Fox return to acting in this way. 

But above all, the ensemble on this show remains the gold standard for TV comedy.

Harrison Ford's portrayal of Paul continues to be a career-best. This season, Paul's Parkinson's symptoms are progressing, forcing him to break down his emotional walls further than ever before. And it's this performance that really grounds the entire season. 

The exploration of Harrison Ford's condition is at the centre of the story, but it never feels like a medical drama. Instead, it's a study in autonomy and the fear of losing one's identity.

Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Ted McGinley, Michael Urie, and Brett Goldstein all remain the ultimate MVPs of the show. The emotional core that provides the literal and metaphorical hugs the audience needs.

Shrinking season 3 manages to stay laugh-out-loud funny while making you sob without warning. It doesn't offer easy fixes or quick solutions. It just offers a seat in the car with a group of people who are all equally lost, but committed to moving forward together.

Feature Image: Apple TV+.