Ted McGinley and Christa Miller in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
In keeping with other shows co-created by Bill Lawrence (‘Spin City’), ‘Shrinking’ has long since evolved from a focus on Jason Segel and Harrison Ford’s therapist characters to embrace a wider circle of friends and relations.
The third season keeps that idea and feeling intact, and also maintains the entertainingly loose comedy atmosphere while also delivering the occasional emotional gut punch.
Script and Direction
Devin Kawaoka and Michael Urie in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
Lawrence, Segel and co-creator Brett Goldstein (‘Ted Lasso’) lead the writing team down some familiar paths here, but that doesn’t stop the show from still being a successful, warm, easy watch.
There’s rarely much that is truly challenging here (though some topics, such as Parkinson’s and grief are still explored), but the vibe really is a group of characters you’re happy to spend time with.
Jessica Williams and Damon Wayans Jr. in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
The core ensemble remains excellent, funny and heartfelt as they follow their various paths.
But it’s in the new additions that we find some real fun –– Michael J. Fox shines as a Parkinson’s patient who interacts with Ford, while Sherry Cola is great as one of Gabby’s new therapy clients who is reticent to open up.
Final Thoughts
Jason Segel and Lukita Maxwell in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
The new season doesn’t exactly break massive new ground, but with a show like ‘Shrinking,’ you neither expect or want that.
What it does do is offer more chances for the characters to interact in fun, warm ways.
‘Shrinking’ Season 3 receives 76 out of 100.
Ted McGinley and Luke Tennie in ‘Shrinking’ Season 3, premiering January 28, 2026 on Apple TV.
What’s the plot of ‘Shrinking’ Season 3?
‘Shrinking’ follows a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people’s lives… including his own.
Inspired by Jeannie Buss, who took over running the L.A. Lakers basketball organization following her father’s death (the fact that Buss is an executive producer here should be a clue –- though that’s more of a contractual title than a creative one), it sees Kate Hudson as Isla Gordon, who is thrust into the tough job of taking over running the fictional LA Waves team.
‘Running Point,’ despite its sports milieu will feel familiar to anyone who has seen a workplace comedy before, and particularly the comedic stylings of Mindy Kaling, who following her work on ‘The Office’ went on to create and star in her own show (‘The Mindy Project’) and shepherd others, including previous Netflix effort ‘Never Have I Ever.’
David Stassen, who has worked extensively with Kaling in the past, on both TV and movies, seems to be –– there’s no way to escape it –– running point here, as he’s the main showrunner. Yet their shared tone shines through; this is another mix of wacky, funny shenanigans and some emotional core elements. The question is, does that blend work?
As mentioned above, Stassen and Kaling have professional history, so too does Ike Barinholtz, who worked and appeared on ‘The Mindy Project’ and has also collaborated on other jobs with them. That helps ‘Running Point’ feel like a smoothly orchestrated comedy from a scripting point of view, instead of a creative team fighting each other over choices.
And the laughs are clear from the start –– Hudson’s Isla is a compelling comic creation, a woman fighting for her place in a male-dominated world and while that’s not the newest idea, she works well as a character. Around her, much of the supporting roles are archetypes, but each is given enough layers that they don’t feel like they show up, say silly things and step off screen again. From Gordon’s PR maven and sidekick Ali Lee (Brenda Song), who has cultural concerns as well as quippy one-liners to her brother Sandy’s (Drew Tarver) relationship crises with his boyfriend, the storylines weave around each other and work.
If there’s an issue with the scripting, at least in the early going, it’s that the show falls into a particular sitcom trap of repeating the first episode’s idea at least a couple of times, with Sandy and brothers Ness (Scott MacArthur) and Cam (Justin Theroux) conspiring to oust her, which becomes annoying. It’s one thing to restate the premise for shows that run weekly, where producers need to catch those dipping in up on the basic concept, it’s another for it to be a recurring motif in a streaming series dropping all at once.
James Ponsoldt, a movie director more known for the likes of ‘The Spectacular Now’ and ‘The Circle’ (but who has been taking more TV work including ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ and ‘Shrinking’), handles all 10 episodes here, and keeps the tone light. The show might not be winning awards for its visual style, but that’s rarely the point in comedies, especially sitcoms.
Hudson makes for a likeable (usually –– though she’s not afraid to go to darker corners when the script calls for it), scrappy main character that you’ll root for as she deals with the various madcap issues of her co-workers and the players.
She has able support from Song, who can deliver an acid-tipped put-down with aplomb, and all three actors playing her brothers. Tarver is a nervy, entertaining watch as Sandy, while MacArthur gets the goofier side of the show as Ness, whose name rhymes with “mess” for a reason.
Theroux has less of a presence by design, since Cam’s addictions and initial car accident are the reason Isla ascends to her business throne in the first place. But what material he is given he spins perfectly, with the right level of imperiousness and stupidity.
Then there is Jackie Moreno, a loyal waves fan who works at the stadium and has more to him than first appears. He’s played with enjoyable charm by Fabrizio Guido, whose storyline also includes his lawyer cousin Ana, played by Keyla Monterroso Mejia, who has been stealing scenes in movies including ‘One of Them Days’ and ‘You’re Cordially Invited’ similarly makes an impact here.
The players, meanwhile, are smaller characters, but it’s amusing to see Chet Hanks as a tattooed weirdo superstar whose career Isla holds in the balance.
‘Running Point’ seems unlikely to charge up the charts of Greatest Sitcoms anytime soon, but it’s certainly amusing enough. Hudson is a fun central figure, and the jokes mostly come out of character –– and they’re well drawn enough that the heartfelt moments hit home without feeling cheesy.
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What’s the plot of ‘Running Point’?
When a scandal forces her brother to resign, Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) is appointed president of the Los Angeles Waves, one of the most storied professional basketball franchises, and her family business.
Ambitious and often overlooked, Isla will have to prove to her skeptical brothers, the board, and the larger sports community that she was the right choice for the job.
Rock groups are often solid fodder for both cinematic and TV drama, and new Prime Video limited series ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ is also throwing ill-fated romance into the mix.
Based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling novel and developed for screens by ‘500 Days of Summer’ writing team Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (Neustadter also runs the show alongside ‘A League of Their Own’ TV creator Will Graham), ‘Daisy Jones’ got a leg up thanks to interest from Reese Witherspoon and her Hello Sunshine company.
Witherspoon has had a lot of luck finding popular books and bringing them to screens, including the likes of ‘Big Little Lies’, ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ on TV and ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ in cinemas.
‘Daisy Jones’ details the rise and precipitous fall of a renowned rock band. In 1977, Daisy Jones & The Six were on top of the world. Fronted by two charismatic lead singers—Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin)—the band had risen from obscurity to fame.
And then, after a sold-out show at Chicago’s Soldier Field, they called it quits. Now, decades later, the band members finally agree to reveal the truth. This is the story of how an iconic band imploded at the height of its powers.
(L to R) Suki Waterhouse (Karen Sirko), Will Harrison (Graham Dunne), Josh Whitehouse (Eddie Roundtree), Sebastian Chacon (Warren Rhodes), Riley Keough (Daisy Jones), and Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Pamela Littky/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
From the looks of the teaser, it’s a love connection between Jones and Dunne that helped the band rise but also contributed to its eventual collapse.
Directing duties for the first five episodes of the 10 fell to James Ponsoldt, who has history blending romance with other genres. Nzingha Stewart took on four others, with Graham directing one.
24 original songs were written for the series and recorded by the cast, and Atlantic Records will be dropping songs through the run of the show. The teaser features one of them, “Regret Me”.
‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ will launch on Prime Video on March 10th with the first three episodes, and the rest will follow in three-episode batches on Fridays.
(L to R) Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne), and Riley Keough (Daisy Jones) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Josh Whitehouse (Eddie Roundtree), Suki Waterhouse (Karen Sirko), Sebastian Chacon (Warren Rhodes), Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne), Riley Keough (Daisy Jones), and Will Harrison (Graham Dunne) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Riley Keough (Daisy Jones), and Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Sebastian Chacon (Warren Rhodes), Will Harrison (Graham Dunne), Josh Whitehouse (Eddie Roundtree) Suki Waterhouse (Karen Sirko), and Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Camila Morrone (Camila Dunne), Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne), and Riley Keough (Daisy Jones) star in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Pamela Littky/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Suki Waterhouse (Karen Sirko) stars in Prime Video’s ‘Daisy Jones and The Six.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
