Sometimes it takes a few seasons for a show to hit its stride - especially sitcoms.
Before they do, you can see the potential but it requires patience - a quality most streaming service commissioners tend not to have.
Fortunately for Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein's 'Shrinking' is on AppleTV which has been given the sitcom time and space to find its top gear.
Season One of a show about the messy personal lives of three psychiatrists and their friends got off to a pretty strong start.
Segel gave audiences a typically likable performance as the emotionally fragile, fortysomething, widowed father, Jimmy Laird.
Jessica Williams was a ball of energy as his quick witted, fellow psychiatrist Gaby Evans.
But it was Harrison Ford who stole the show as the wonderfully grumpy head of their practice, Paul Rhoades.
And while the three principals shone, Lawrence, Segel and Goldstein were smart enough to assemble around them a delightful supporting cast with Christa Miller playing Jimmy's overinvested neighbour Liz Bishop and Ted McGinley her laid-back husband Derek.
Michael Urie fizzled as Jimmy's gay friend Brian Lorenzo, while Luke Tennie and Lukita Maxwell held their own against more seasoned members of the cast as Jimmy's troubled patient Sean Mitchell and as the widower's teenage daughter Alice.
Season Two was fun and had a lot to recommend it.
Segel and Williams remained a joy to watch, Ford's Parkinson's storyline was really engaging and McGinley became the show's MVP delivering many of its laughs.
However a decision to cast Goldstein as Louis, the driver who killed Jimmy's wife was a bit of a drag on proceedings as his character reached out to the Lairds in an attempt to seek reconciliation.
It didn't help that Goldstein's delivery of his lines was so monotone and mournful even when he was trying to raise a smile.
Louis features in Season Three after navigating the bumps of seeking forgiveness and becoming a good friend to both Jimmy and Alice.
However wisely Goldstein and his fellow writers Brian Gallivan, Bill Posley, Ashley Nicole Black, Sofi Selig, CJ Hoke, Zack Bornstein, Emily Watson, Rachna Fruchborn, Neil Goldman and Bill Lawrence find a way of resolving his story and moving him along.
And while the gags come thick and fast in Season Three, 'Shrinking' has plenty of other meaty dramatic moments that really satisfy.
A lot of these hinge on Paul's worsening condition and his decision to retire from the practice.
But a lot also hangs on Jimmy wrestling with the prospect of becoming an empty nester.
With Alice due to go to university and him losing Paul as a surrogate father figure, he has to work through a complicated relationship with his real dad, Jeff Daniels' affable but extremely unreliable Randy.
There's romance in the air too as Jimmy hovers around Cobie Smulders' Sofi, unsure whether to fully commit to her as he clings onto memories of his late wife.
As is the wont of 'Shrinking,' he's not the only one who's struggling.
Gaby faces a tricky patient, Sherry Cola's Maya who has the potential to reshape the direction of her career.
Her relationship with the other Derrick, played by Damon Wayans Jr, also intensifies.
While inserting themselves as ever into the drama of their friends and neighbours' lives, Christa Miller's Liz Bishop and her husband Ted McGinley's Derek face challenges of their own.
The couple are frustrated by the behaviour of one of their sons, Markus Silberger's slacker Matthew but they also face a huge personal setback.
Brian and his husband, Devin Kawaoka's Charlie are preparing for the arrival of a baby they're adopting but they are also trying to figure out if there is a role that the birth mother Claudia Selewski's sweet natured Ava can play.
Former Army veteran and Jimmy and Alice's housemate, Sean is also chugging along nicely with his career going well - almost too well, with him receiving an exciting job offer that could tempt him away from his food truck and impact the lives of those he cares about.
And then there's Paul who makes a big decision about retiring and relocating to Connecticut with his wife Wendie Malick's Julie, as his Parkinsons really starts to take hold and the tremors become more pronounced.
Before he leaves, can Paul also sort out the messy lives of those around him?
As you can no doubt guess, Season Three is finally the series where the writers, directors, cast and crew of 'Shrinking' get the mux of comedy and drama just right.
Each episode is a real joy to watch, delivering laughs and solid moments of drama in equal measure.
Segel remains as likeable as ever, even when Jimmy is messing up and he provides a strong foundation for the show, comfortably handling the more serious scenes alongside the moments of levity.
Cast regulars Maxwell, Tennie, Urie, Malick, Wayans Jr and Rachel Stubbington as Alice's best friend Summer amuse in a show that easily switches between sweetness and grit.
Silberger, Kawaoka, Selewski, Smulders, Cola, Goldstein, Lily Rabe as Paul's daughter Meg, Isabella Gomez as Sean's girlfriend Marisol and Trey Santiago-Hudson as Sean's co-worker Jorge play their part.
Daniels, Candice Bergen as Derek's mother Constance and Michael J Fox as Gerry, a Parkinson's patient who Paul bonds with, fit into the cast and add star power.
However it is Williams, McGinley, Miller and Ford who really shine - comfortably delivering their wisecracks, whilst navigating the more testing dramatic moments and making them look effortless.
Ford, in particular, must be a strong candidate for an Emmy or a Golden Globe - turning in arguably the most layered performance of his career.
But don't be surprised if Segel, Williams, Miller, McGinley and Daniels who also get recognised.
With Zach Braff, Randall Keenan Winston, Rebecca Asher, James Ponsoldt and Anu Valia doing a sterling job in the directors' chair, the story arcs of each character feel like this season was originally meant to be the show's last.
However 'Shrinking' is set to return for at least one more.
Right now, we could all do with the comfort of knowing we will get to spend more time in the company of Jimmy Laird and his friends, family and neighbours.
('Shrinking' was made available for streaming on Apple TV between January 28-April 8, 2026)
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