Normally I use this space to recommend a single show, but I found myself recently binging two separate shows that distinguished themselves so similarly that I thought it might be fun to bring them together in a single post and offer my fair readers a choice—and because I guarantee it’s probably the only time these two shows will ever be mentioned in the same article.
We are currently living in a world of sides, of factions. I hate to make anything here political because I personally use TV as a means of escaping the current horrors of the real world, but there are two current fictional shows on now that are such good examples of each side of the current political spectrum, I thought it might be fun to put them up next to each other, recommend them together, both as a way of being wholly inclusive and, honestly, because each one is so ideologically tilted, the only way to feel balanced is to present them together. (Also: I have significant issues with each one, so I didn’t want either one to stand alone, but presenting them as a pair makes it fun and I’ll leave it to you to try one or both, depending on your taste.)
Now, to be clear: neither show is political. Neither show is presented as leaning right or left and neither show is, I assume, intended to be interpreted as a reflected vision of today’s America. But the fact is, there are no two shows that are more opposite from each other, in every possible way, than Shrinking and Landman. Both shows are really good and worthy of your binging. But each show also is far from perfect and may get on your last nerve at some point, but if you are in a couple that can never agree on what to watch, this may be your perfect solution. I promise you: in Shrinking and Landman, there is something for everyone.
First up: Shrinking on AppleTV+. Shrinking was created by Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein and Jason Segal. Lawrence is best-known for having co-created Ted Lasso, which Goldstein was also a writer for (and played beloved character Roy Kent on). In Shrinking, Segal stars as Jimmy, a therapist whose wife has just died in a car accident, leaving him to raise their teenage daughter alone. But he’s not alone, as his wife’s best friend is also their neighbor, played by Christa Miller, and she won’t leave Jimmy alone, constantly checking on him. Jimmy’s co-workers in his office are other therapists, played by Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams, who try their best as well to help Jimmy navigate his grief, as does his wife’s brother, played by Michael Urie.
There really isn’t much of a plot of Shrinking, it’s pretty much just the progression of Jimmy’s emotional journey through grief and back into the real world. If this doesn’t sound like a great premise for a comedy to you, you would be right. But in the hands of Lawrence, Goldstein and Segal, the comedy does come, and it comes wrapped in a giant hug. For my taste, there 
is far too much hugging and not enough comedy, as this show is way, way too earnest and trying so hard to put good out into the world that is sometimes forgets that maybe we just want to escape feeling things once in a while.
BUT—yes, there are some buts here—there are some massively excellent things about this show. First of all, the writing is truly second-to-none. Much like Ted Lasso’s writing, when it’s humming, when the right lines are delivered by the right actors in the right moments, there’s truly nothing like it. This is an incredible cast, notwithstanding my problems with Segal, whom I find tedious in this role, who deliver across the board. Truly exceptional and worth watching the show if for no other reason are Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams, who make everything better. Ford has never been better as a grumpy therapist who is impatient with everybody but has a soft inner center and Williams is finally being given a platform to showcase her many talents as an actor and comedienne and thank goodness the writers give her so much to work with.
Two seasons of Shrinking are currently available to watch on AppleTV+ (10 episodes in the first season, 12 in the second) and there will be a third season. I feel the story has been told and it’s starting to drag out already, but I’m here for as much Harrison Ford as he will agree to, so I’ll keep coming back.
So, if you are a progressive, compassionate, liberal human who is in touch with their emotions and love white saviors and shows set in beautiful white Southern California enclaves that nobody can really afford but has really great writing and will touch you in your well-meaning heart, Shrinking is the show for you.
But, if you are looking for something a little more on the rough side, where the hugs aren’t as easy to come by, where men are men, the beer is cold and the women are hot, and there’s not a Prius nor vegan anywhere in sight—in other words, if you’re looking for the REAL America, you’re looking for Landman.
Landman, available on Paramount+, is a show from creator Taylor Sheridan, who also created Yellowstone. Landman stars Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris, the general manager of an independent oil company in west Texas. It’s Tommy’s job to make sure that everything is running smoothly for the hundreds of wells spread across thousands of miles, and that is no easy feat, considering he has to deal with accidents, competitors, mechanical failures and drug cartels, not to mention the daily dramas in his personal life, which include his crazy and spoiled (but hot) ex-wife, who wants to be his current wife again.
I really didn’t have any initial interest in this show, especially with its setting and characters, none of which held any interest for me—especially in the current political climate—and coming
off of the success of Yellowstone, I felt these types of shows will be even more emboldened to lean into the “red meat” elements that appeal to their right-leaning audience (of which I am not). But I found myself intrigued by my trust in both Thornton as an actor and Sheridan as a writer. Despite my lack of interest in Yellowstone, Sheridan had some built-up good will in my heart due to my intense love for Hell or High Water, the 2016 film that he wrote (David Mackenzie directed) that was nominated for Best Picture (losing to Moonlight) and Sheridan was nominated for Best Original Screenplay (losing to Manchester by the Sea). I love Hell or High Water so much and I love Thornton so much, especially in the first season of Fargo, that I pushed aside my political bias and ventured outside my liberal bubble to watch a show very different than what I was used to.
Much like Shrinking, Landman is most definitely a cup o’tea show. If this isn’t your cup of tea, you won’t like it from the jump. But, if you are willing to endure the setting and the characters (read: very middle America, very red meat, very pickup truck-driving) then Landman has an excellent story to tell with a compelling premise.
Basically, Landman is Dallas meets Friday Night Lights. (And that really works, because Thornton played the coach in the original movie in 2004.) Sheridan spends most every episode asking Thornton to deliver one or two monologues about the importance of the oil industry to the American economy and to the world as a whole, in between asking Thornton to carry the load of the show as a tired, overworked, overstressed oil roughneck-turned-manager who has to juggle way too much. Sheridan’s love for mansplaining the importance of the flyover states to the liberal elites seemingly never gets old for him, and his love of explaining the nitty gritty details of how oil goes from inside the earth to powering our engines (and running the planet) proves to be a key element of a show that really is about one man’s stressful workplace.
But I do have to give Sheridan credit. He makes it all really fascinating, watchable and really, really entertaining. The dialogue is whip-smart, funny—sometimes diabolically so—intuitive and educational. It doesn’t talk down to the characters or to the audience, although there is some blatant liberal-shaming, but you have to expect that out here.
What you also have to expect is the blatant sexism, which you get in spades. Landman couldn’t be more built for a cis, straight, white American male if you had drawn it up—wait, this was drawn up. The irony is the people who watch this show are the people who hate Hollywood, and yet it’s only in Hollywood that worlds and women like this actually exist. This is a dream, a fantasy. In what world would a guy like Thornton, whose only appeal is his wit, be able to pull all the women he pulls? Oh yeah, the male fantasy world. But that’s what Landman is. A male fantasy. You’ve got pickup trucks, big oil rigs, lots of action, explosions, vistas, beer, and lots of gratuitous shots of scantily clad young women. Bingo!
But seriously, other than the sexism—extreme sexism—Landman is an enjoyably bingeable show that reminded me of the good ol’ days of Dallas with a lot of the earthy vibes of Friday Night Lights. These are great characters, great dialogue and it’s important to learn about a part of the country we might never step foot in. You won’t have a better shepherd than Taylor Sheridan, I promise.
So, if you can handle a much more masculine show, one not ashamed to wave the flag and get its hands dirty, where men are men and women are objects, Landman is the show for you! There has been one season (10 episodes) so far, but a second one is coming.
So, as I said, both Shrinking and Landman are flawed shows, but they each are also super bingeable, both are enjoyable, each has very good things to recommend them, it all depends on your individual taste. I hope I’ve helped you identify which one, if either, is your cup o’tea. Or maybe, just maybe, watch both and we can begin to come together and heal. Understanding the other side is the first step.
Shrinking (2 seasons so far) is available on AppleTV+
Landman (1 season so far) is available on Paramount+