Shows Like
Shows Like Shrinking: Dramedies About Grief and Therapy
By Jordan A. · · Updated · 5 min read
Shrinking works because it lets a therapist be a mess. Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein built a show where the professional helping people is grieving badly, ignoring his daughter, and giving advice he has no business giving, and the comedy comes out of that gap rather than out of jokes about therapy.
If you want more of that, the useful sorting question is which half you came for: the grief handled with jokes, the therapy room itself, or the found-family ensemble. Below, each pick gets its network, its years and its season count, so you know what you are signing up for. Where each one streams changes, so the title page on BingeNext shows current US options.
If you came for grief with jokes in it
Ted Lasso (Apple TV, 2020 to present, four seasons) is the obvious neighbor because Bill Lawrence made both, and the DNA is identical: a man performing relentless warmth over a panic disorder. It shares the ensemble that becomes a family and the willingness to sit in a therapy session for a whole scene. The difference is that it is much sweeter and the stakes are a football club. Choose it if you want the version with the softer landing.
After Life (Netflix, 2019 to 2022, three seasons of six episodes) is Ricky Gervais as a widower who decides rudeness is now a superpower. It shares the premise almost exactly: a bereaved man behaving badly and slowly being pulled back by the people around him. The difference is that it is bleaker and the jokes are meaner. Choose it if Shrinking sometimes feels too kind. Skip it if you need your comedy characters to be likeable.
Sorry for Your Loss (2018 to 2019, two seasons of ten episodes) has Elizabeth Olsen as a young widow, and it is the most serious show here. It shares the specific texture of grief that arrives in the wrong order. The difference is that the comedy is incidental. Choose it if you want the emotional core without the sitcom rhythm. It is short, which helps.
If you came for the therapy room
In Treatment (HBO, 2008 to 2021, four seasons) is the format taken to its limit: half-hour sessions, one patient per episode, a therapist who has his own therapist. It shares the belief that the interesting part is what a person will not say. The difference is that it is not a comedy at all and it is a lot of episodes. Choose it if the Paul and Alice scenes are the ones you rewatch. The 2021 season with Uzo Aduba stands alone if you do not want the whole run.
Enlightened (HBO, 2011 to 2013, two seasons) is Laura Dern as a woman who returns from a wellness retreat convinced she is transformed, and is not. It shares the tension between the language of healing and the reality of a difficult person. The difference is that it is much stranger and much sharper, with a Mike White script doing things prestige comedy rarely tries. Choose it if you want the best-written show on this list. It ends properly.
Please Like Me (Australian ABC, 2013 to 2016, four seasons) opens with a suicide attempt and a break-up and somehow stays funny for four seasons. It shares the mental health material handled without a lecture and a lead who is often the problem. The difference is that it is Australian, low-budget and much more interested in cooking. Choose it if you want the underrated one.
If you came for the ensemble
Somebody Somewhere (HBO, 2022 to 2024, three seasons) follows Bridget Everett as a woman back in her Kansas hometown after her sister's death, finding a group of misfits at a church choir. It shares the found-family engine and the middle-aged-people-starting-over premise. The difference is that it is quieter, with almost no plot. Choose it if the friendship between Jimmy and Brian is your favorite thread. It got to finish on its own terms.
Better Things (FX, 2016 to 2022, five seasons) is Pamela Adlon as a working actor raising three daughters, and it is structured as fragments rather than stories. It shares the specific comedy of parenting a teenager who despises you. The difference is that it has no arc, so you either sink into it or bounce off. Choose it if you liked the Alice storyline most.
Dead to Me (Netflix, 2019 to 2022, three seasons) puts two women in a grief support group and gives one of them a secret. It shares the friendship-forged-in-loss setup. The difference is that it is a plotted thriller underneath, so it pulls harder. Choose it if you want something you will finish in a week.
Fleabag (BBC Three, 2016 to 2019, two seasons, twelve episodes) is the shortest recommendation and probably the best. A woman deflects grief with jokes directly into camera until she cannot. It shares the exact defense mechanism Jimmy uses. The difference is that it is British, formally daring and over in six hours. Choose it if you have a weekend and want the whole emotional journey at once.
Where to start
If you want the closest thing to Shrinking, start with Ted Lasso, same creator and the same warmth. If you want the sharpest writing, start with Enlightened. If you have six hours and want to be wrecked, Fleabag. And if you want something that is still gentle but genuinely new to you, it is Somebody Somewhere.
If none of those fit, work from the show itself. Put Shrinking and one other favorite into BingeNext TV recommendations and you will get a ranked shortlist built on what the two have in common, with a note on where each one streams. It takes about a minute.
Topics covered: dramedy, comedy, mental-health, contemporary, character-driven, apple-tv
About the author
Jordan A., Founder, BingeNext
Jordan A. is the founder of BingeNext and is responsible for every guide published on this site. He built the recommendation engine after one too many nights lost to the streaming menu. Dates, season counts and where-to-watch details in these guides are checked against official sources before publishing, and corrections are welcome at Jordan@Bingenext.com.