When Apple TV+ first dropped the trailer for Shrinking, I’ll be honest, I thought it looked like another mid-tier sitcom trying too hard to be the next Ted Lasso. It had the pedigree, sure. Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel are heavy hitters. But the "grieving therapist goes rogue" premise felt risky. Then I watched it. It’s messy, loud, and weirdly tender. Naturally, everyone started asking the same thing: has Shrinking been nominated for any awards, or is it just another streaming show getting lost in the shuffle?
It turns out the awards circuit actually noticed.
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The show hasn't just been nominated; it’s managed to bridge that awkward gap between being a "fan favorite" and a "critic’s darling." That’s a tough needle to thread in 2026. Usually, you’re either a populist hit with zero hardware or a high-brow drama that nobody actually watches. Shrinking lives in the middle. It’s the kind of show you recommend to your mom and your cynical film-buff friend at the same time.
The Big Ones: Primetime Emmys and Golden Globes
If we’re talking about prestige, we have to look at the Television Academy. For its first season, the show made a significant splash. Jason Segel, who plays the spiraling Jimmy Laird, landed a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He’s doing something really specific here—balancing the slapstick of a man falling off a bike with the soul-crushing weight of a widower who can’t look at his daughter. It’s a tightrope walk.
Then there’s Harrison Ford.
Seriously, who expected Harrison Ford to be the funniest part of a half-hour comedy? He was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Watching him play Paul, a Parkinson’s-afflicted therapist who treats his patients like annoying interruptions to his day, is a masterclass. He’s grumpy. He sings Sugar Ray in his car. He’s basically the emotional anchor of the entire production.
The Golden Globes didn't ignore it either. Segel picked up a nod there for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. While the show itself hasn't always secured the "Best Series" wins against titans like The Bear or Hacks, the individual performances are consistently ranked among the best on television.
Why the Industry Loves Shrinking
Critics often talk about "tonal shifts." In Shrinking, these shifts happen fast. One second, you're laughing at Sean’s (Luke Tennie) blunt honesty, and the next, you’re crying because Jimmy finally processed a memory of his late wife. This "traumedy" genre is what the Emmy voters are currently obsessed with.
The writers—Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence—know how to structure a joke, but they also know when to shut up and let the silence do the work. This is likely why the show also grabbed a Writers Guild of America (WGA) nomination for Best New Series. It’s hard to write funny dialogue that doesn't feel like a sitcom script. In Shrinking, the characters talk over each other. They say the wrong thing. They’re annoying.
The Supporting Cast Snubs (and Wins)
While Segel and Ford get the lion's share of the headlines, the broader awards conversation often overlooks Jessica Williams. As Gaby, she is the high-energy foil to Ford’s curmudgeon. Her performance is loud, vibrant, and deeply empathetic. While she didn't snag the major Emmy nod in the first wave, the Critics Choice Television Awards were smarter about it. They nominated her for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, recognizing that she’s basically the glue holding the office scenes together.
Christa Miller also deserves a mention here. She plays Liz, the "nosey neighbor" archetype that could easily be a caricature. Instead, she makes Liz feel like a real woman dealing with an empty nest and a fading sense of purpose. It’s nuanced work.
Technical Merits and Craft Nominations
Most people searching for whether Shrinking has been nominated for any awards are looking for the actors. But the "below-the-line" talent matters too. The show has a very specific look—sun-drenched Pasadena vibes that feel warm but slightly lonely.
- Casting Society of America: The show won Artios Awards for its casting excellence. Think about it: finding someone to play Jimmy’s daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell), who can hold her own against Harrison Ford is no small feat.
- TCA Awards: The Television Critics Association nominated the show for Outstanding New Program. This is usually a strong indicator of longevity.
- HCA TV Awards: The Hollywood Critics Association (now Astra Awards) went all in, nominating the show across multiple categories including Best Streaming Comedy Series.
The music also plays a massive role. It’s not just background noise; it’s a character. The theme song by Benjamin Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie fame) sets the tone perfectly. It’s melancholic but hopeful. While it hasn't swept the Grammys, it’s been a talking point in almost every critical review of the series.
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Comparing Shrinking to its Competitors
When you look at the awards landscape, Shrinking is competing in a "Blood Bath" era of comedy. You have The Bear, which is barely a comedy (it’s a stress-induced fever dream), and you have Abbott Elementary, which is a traditional network powerhouse.
Shrinking sits in this weird third category. It’s "Prestige Comfort TV."
Voters like it because it feels "important" due to the mental health themes, but it’s also easy to binge. It doesn't require a PhD in cinematography to appreciate, but it isn't "dumbed down" either. This middle-ground positioning is why it wins nominations but sometimes struggles to take home the trophy. It’s rarely the most experimental show, but it’s often the best-liked show in the room.
The Harrison Ford Factor
We have to talk about Ford again. He’s 80+ years old and doing the best work of his late career. The "Grumpy Old Man" trope is easy to phone in. He doesn't.
When Paul discusses his Parkinson's diagnosis or his strained relationship with his daughter (played by Heidi Gardner), Ford brings a fragility that we haven't seen from him since maybe The Fugitive. Awards voters love a "legend in a new light" narrative. That’s why his nominations for Shrinking felt so earned—they weren't just "lifetime achievement" nods. They were for the work.
Misconceptions About Its Success
A lot of people think Shrinking is a "spin-off" of Ted Lasso because of the creative team. It’s not. And that actually hurt its awards chances early on. Critics wanted it to be Lasso 2.0. When they realized it was darker, more cynical, and featured characters who were genuinely unlikeable at times, some voters pulled back.
But as the first season progressed and the second season arrived, the "independent" identity of the show solidified. It stopped being "that show from the Lasso guys" and became "that show where Harrison Ford eats a gummy." That shift in perception is what led to its increased presence in the 2024 and 2025 awards cycles.
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Where Can You Track Its Current Wins?
If you're keeping a tally, you should keep an eye on these specific organizations:
- The SAG Awards: The Screen Actors Guild loves this cast. The ensemble nominations are where Shrinking shines because the chemistry is the whole point.
- The AFI Awards: The American Film Institute often names it one of the top 10 television programs of the year.
- The Peabody Awards: There’s been a lot of chatter about the show’s depiction of therapy—sometimes controversial, always interesting—which puts it in the running for these types of honors.
What's Next for the Show's Awards Run?
With the second season expanding the world, the chances for more nominations are high. The introduction of new guest stars and deeper backstories for the patients provides more "bait" for acting categories.
The " rogue therapist" trope has been done before, but not with this much heart. As long as the show continues to focus on the "puddled" nature of human grief, the awards will keep coming. It captures a specific post-pandemic exhaustion that clearly resonates with the people voting on these things.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Viewers
If you’re a fan of the show or someone following its awards trajectory, here is what you need to know about its current standing and how to engage with its success:
- Watch for the 2026 Emmy cycle: This will be a defining moment for the show’s legacy, particularly for the supporting cast members who were previously overlooked.
- Don't ignore the "Guest Star" categories: Shrinking often brings in incredible one-off actors (like the various patients Jimmy treats). These are prime spots for "Outstanding Guest Actor" nominations.
- Evaluate it as a "Traumedy": To understand why it gets nominated, watch how it handles heavy topics like Parkinson's or PTSD. The "award-worthy" moments are usually the ones that make you uncomfortable.
- Compare the seasons: If you're predicting future wins, look at how the writing evolved from Season 1 to Season 2. The shift from "Jimmy’s grief" to "the ensemble’s collective mess" is what the WGA voters look for.
- Follow the SAG-AFTRA wins: These are often the best predictors of who will win an Emmy. If the cast wins an ensemble award at SAG, they are almost guaranteed a sweep elsewhere.
The show is a reminder that you don't need a massive budget or dragons to get nominated for big awards. Sometimes, you just need a few broken people sitting in a room, trying to figure out how to be slightly less broken tomorrow. That, and Harrison Ford in a bucket hat.