In a TV landscape where the major streaming services are showcasing series with Jewish themes, Apple TV has risen to the top of the barrel with its new entry The Shrink Next Door.
Starring comedic actors Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell, it's more of a dramedy than a comedy. But it has its comic moments. Unlike many Jewish-themed TV programs, its Jewish sequences, language, and references to the New York Jewish scene are pretty authentic.
As Esther Kustanowitz wrote in a review in J-The Jewish News of Northern California,
If “The Shrink Next Door” were a Bond Girl, she would have to be called Yarmulkes Galore — that’s how Jewy it is. (Has Modern Orthodox high school Ramaz been name-checked in any other TV series lately?)
But the show reaches its peak Jewyness at Marty’s bar mitzvah, which operates at nearly 80 percent authenticity. Dr. Ike is called to the Torah for an aliyah with a “ya’amod rishon” (“let the person with the first aliyah stand up”). Rudd aces the pre-aliyah blessings with glee and gusto and nearly nails the Hebrew (one word — “natan” is inflated by an extra syllable to “na-atan,” but we’ll allow it). Ferrell creaks out the verses to complete his redemptive rite of passage, but needs an assist from Dr. Ike, which illustrates just how much he is insinuating himself into Marty’s life.
The series is based on a podcast with the same title, that chronicled the bizarre true relationship between Marty Markowitz, the fabric manufacturer, and Isaac Herschkopf, his manipulating psychiatrist.
The series has four episodes so far, and a new episode is being released each Friday.
Enjoy!
A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.
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