📺 Shrinking, Poker Face, and Extraordinary
Happy Groundhog Day to one and all. The shadow has been seen and more winter is coming. But the good news is that February brings a whole batch of new shows that look very promising.
Speaking of promising shows, if you haven’t started watching The Last of Us, you should definitely do that, and then take a listen to our podcast where we’ve been following up weekly with a breakdown of each episode. Finally, as always, if you like the newsletter, give that button below a click and share with a fellow TV enthusiast.
In today’s edition:
Shrinking
Poker Face
Extraordinary
— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen
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In this segment we each give our take on the same show. Will we see eye to eye?
Shrinking
Keywords:Â dark comedy, drama, mental health
Watch if you like:Â Ted Lasso, Fleabag, After Life
Length: 30-min runtime, 2 episodes out so far with a new one each Friday
Watch on:Â Apple TV+
Written by Ted Lasso collaborators Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence, Shrinking stars Jason Segel as a grieving therapist who goes against the rulebook when he starts to tell his clients exactly what they should do to fix their lives.
I was excited when I heard about Shrinking — not only is this Harrison Ford’s first foray into comedic television, but I would watch anything with Brett Goldstein attached (he’s an excellent writer, but he’s also Roy Kent!). If they could capture even a little bit of the magic of Lasso, this show would be a win, in my book. And for me, Shrinking is already proving itself to have that same feel-good sincerity.
Shrinking could have easily been cliché, as a show whose apparent message is that therapists are going through stuff too, or it could be melodramatic, as a show about a man who is grieving his recently deceased wife. But so far it’s striking the perfect balance of being heartfelt without being mawkish, and there is enough humor to keep the show from being a downer. Plus, the soundtrack is killer. With the upcoming season of Lasso being its last, I’m glad that Shrinking will be around.
Jess’s Rating: A-
My one sentence pitch for Shrinking is: it’s a comedy about feelings with a lot of Ted Lasso energy. I don’t think it’s necessarily for everyone, but right now it’s working for me. The cast is incredibly strong (hello Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams as supporting actors??) and the writing bolstering said powerhouse of talent is as witty and charming as that of Lasso.
I will say, however, that so far I’m not completely satisfied with the way the show is balancing all its strong characters and stories. During the first two episodes it often felt like the B- or even C-plot needed more time than it was given. I suppose it doesn’t help that I care the least about the main character, Jimmy (Segel), but it felt like a loss to be given a glimpse of one story with Ford’s character arc unfurling only to have the scene end abruptly to swap back to Segel’s. I want more time with Jimmy’s neighbors and colleagues and daughter! As great as Jason Segel is at goofiness and affable moping, his protagonist is just not as charismatic or likable as I want him to be.
Jenni’s Rating: B+
In which we choose a recent show we’ve been enjoying to review and feature.
If you like the comfort of a procedural crime show, try… Poker Face
Keywords: procedural, how-catch-’em, crime
Watch if you like: Knives Out, Columbo, Monk
Jess’s Rating: B
Rian Johnson, creator of Knives Out and Glass Onion, has resurrected the crime procedural with his new series Poker Face. The show stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie, a woman who has the preternatural ability to detect when a person is lying. She uses this skill to solve murders, although she’s no detective — she just happens to encounter a lot of violent crime while she’s on the run from an ex-employer.
The formula of Poker Face may be familiar, but the show feels fresh, in part because of Lyonne’s stellar performance in the lead role. Her old-soul rasp and ineffable charm are what makes this series so watchable. It also helps that the list of guest actors throughout these 10 episodes is impressive: Adrien Brody, John Ratzenberger, Chloe Sevigny, Tim Meadows, Jameela Jamil, Luis Guzman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Stephanie Hsu all appear.
Poker Face is as much low-stakes fun as you might expect. Even though the first four episodes are already streaming on Peacock, I would recommend that you go back to the old ways and portion out one episode per week. The predictability of each episode can be fatiguing: once the viewer knows who committed the murder, watching Charlie try to piece it together can start to drag.
Length: 1-hr runtime, 4 episodes out so far with new ones each Thursday
Watch on: Peacock
If you like underdog/oddball comedies, try… Extraordinary
Keywords: British, sitcom, superhero
Watch if you like: Lovesick, The Boys, Crashing
Jenni’s Rating: B-
All Extraordinary’s heroine Jen (Máiréad Tyers) wants is a superpower, so she can be like everybody else. In the alternate version of London where her story unfolds, most people receive a supernatural ability when they turn 18. Some can fly, others can turn back time, a few can summon sea creatures or channel the dead. Now 25 years old, minimally employed, and still powerless, Jen is desperate to do whatever she can to unearth her potential and embark on her true adult life.
The premise of this sitcom may sound a bit gimmicky (and it is!), but the way the show plays on conventions of familiar superhero dramas serves as a framework for a lot of fun jokes. Moreover, because supernatural abilities are commonplace in the show’s universe, they quickly become commonplace to the viewer. Powers are just part of the background and instead, the spotlight of the story shines on the journey of a somewhat self-centered young woman trying to find herself and just get by.
Part underdog story, part oddball comedy, Extraordinary is consistently amusing and cute — a good watch if you’re in need of something light.
Length: 25-min runtime, 1 season / 8 episodes
Watch on: Hulu
Your shows, returned:
Truth Be Told, Season 3: Premieres January 20 on Apple TV+Â
Harlem, Season 2: Premieres February 3 on Prime Video
You, Season 4 Part 1: Premieres February 9 on Netflix
C.B. Strike, Season 5: Premieres February 6 on HBO Max
The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Season 13: Premieres February 7 on Bravo
The Flash, Season 9: Premieres February 8 on The CW
Vanderpump Rules, Season 10: Premieres February 8 on Bravo
A Million Little Things, Season 5: Premieres February 8 on ABC
Upcoming new releases:
Freeridge: Premieres February 2 on Netflix
Dear Edward: Premieres February 3 on Apple TV+
Murder in Big Horn: Premieres February 5 on Showtime
Not Dead Yet: Premieres February 8 on ABC / the next day on Hulu
Hoping this will convince Brandon to finally watch Shrinking with me !