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The Shrink Next Door is a new one-off series based on a podcast of the same name by Wondery and Bloomberg, which I’d never heard of before, but it centres around Marty Markowitz (Will Ferrell) and the titular shrink, Dr. Isaac Herschkopf (Paul Rudd) in an eight-part series where the episodes vary in length quite a lot from 36-50 minutes.
It begins in 2010, where Isaac is seen with a beard and grey hair, having the party of his life, while later on, an older Marty smashes the party up after everything’s finished.
Then we see how the series jumps back and forth in time as we go back to 1982 (considered ‘present day’) where Marty has a stalker ex who thinks she owes him a holiday, but his life ain’t all sunshine and roses, as he runs a fabrics company, left to him by his father, but is harrassed by a customer to the point where he gets beyond stressed, and has a panic attack. He’s the least together person in the world, basically, since he lets people walk all over him.
Hence why his sister and colleague, Phyllis (Kathryn Hahn), sends him off to be seen by Isaac, where their first meeting starts off very well, but we can see that for whatever reason – yet unknown to us – 28 years later and everything’s turned to crap.
So far, I’ve seen the first three episodes which are out today, but the second one goes back to 1956 where Marty has his Bar mitzvah; as well as to 1982 where it states at the cinema that, for example, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial is showing roughly after 105 minutes, even though it’s a 2hr film. Add the adverts, and you’d be looking at a 3hr window to allow also for tidying up after customers have left.
Anyway, despite my not being a huge fan of either of the two leads, it’s surprisingly watchable, and has a lot to say about trying to grow your capabilities, rather than just settling for the basics of life. I will check out more, even though it’s not the not exactly setting my world on fire.
The Shrink Next Door is on Apple TV+ from today, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. Initially, three episodes are available, and additional episodes will stream weekly.
Check out the trailer below:
Episode 1-3 Score: 6/10
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 36-50 mins per episode for most episodes
Release date: November 12th 2021 (first 3 episodes)
Studio: Apple TV+
Format: 2.00:1
Series Directors: Jesse Peretz, Michael Showalter
Developer/Writer: Georgia Pritchett
Music: Joshua Moshier
Cast:
Dr. Isaac Herschkopf: Paul Rudd
Martin Markowitz: Will Ferrell
Phyllis Shapiro: Kathryn Hahn
Bonnie Herschkopf: Casey Wilson
Bruce: Cornell Womack
Nancy: Gable Swanlund
Miriam: Sarayu Blue
Rabbi Sherman: Allan Wasserman
Tracey: Kesia Brooke
Herb: Bob Glouberman
Joel: Richard Aaron Anderson
Joe: Amir Talai
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.