L ifestyle /C ulture
‘Shrink Next Door’ Looks for Breakthroughs
T E L EV ISION
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH is
a Greek text that every physician
and medical professional takes
when beginning their career. It’s
a promise to “do no harm” and
prioritize the patient above all else,
lest the doctor loses their license
and the patient their wellbeing.

Apple TV+’s limited series
“The Shrink Next Door,” which
premiered on Nov. 12, pushes
the meaning of the Hippocratic
Oath through the troubled and
troubling behavior of a charis-
matic and calculating therapist.

Adapted from the Wondery
and Bloomberg podcast of the
same name by Joe Nocera and
based on a true story, the series
shows the 30-year relation-
ship between psychiatrist Isaac
“Ike” Herschkopf (Paul Rudd)
and patient Marty Markowitz
(Will Ferrell), which skirts the
20 NOVEMBER 25, 2021
Katheryn Hahn as Phyllis Shapiro, Marty’s worried and opinionated sister
Courtesy of AppleTV+
line between comradery and
manipulation. Rudd — whose Jewish grand-
parents changed their name
from Rudnitsky — portrays Dr.

Ike as an easy-going, gregarious
man: He’s a smiling thera-
pist and active member of his
Modern Orthodox synagogue.

As a Jewish man himself, Rudd
captures the familiar New York
diction toned down by his
character’s affluent lifestyle.

Dr. Ike takes on new patient
Marty after Marty’s sister
(Kathryn Hahn, beloved shiksa)
witnesses Marty’s persistent
anxiety around his inherited
fabric business. Marty bears a
bit of a resemblance to Ferrell’s
character in the Saturday Night
Live sketch “More Cowbell,”
completed with bushy, curly
locks and thick beard, albeit with
less midriff and less cowbell.

He’s a bit schlubby and
pathetic, and Ferrell’s New York
accent tends to come and go,
perhaps exposing himself as a
Californian gentile.

The duo’s differences are
pointedly shown when Ike takes
Marty to a Korean restaurant
— which he describes as a deli
— to continue their session over
lunch. (Ike makes it clear to Marty
that he’ll still have to pay for the
session’s extra hour.) Ike sits down
and begins contentedly slurping
noodles with chopsticks. Marty
shyly orders a turkey sandwich
with nothing else on it.

During the series, Ike takes
advantage of Marty’s delicate state
and tendency to be taken advan-
tage of, first by building him up,
then by knocking him down.

The series doesn’t waste
any time testing Marty and his
relationship with his therapist,
who is a walking HIPAA viola-
tion, disclosing his patience’s
identity around his affluent
New York neighborhood. Local
JEWISH EXPONENT
From left: Will Ferrell plays patient Marty Markowitz and Paul Rudd plays
therapist Ike Herschkopf in “The Shrink Next Door.”
Courtesy of Apple TV +
park-goers, chess players and
rabbis alike know Marty as
Ike’s patient, which is perhaps
a product of antiquated thera-
peutic practices from the ’80s,
or an intentional exaggeration
of Ike’s “unconventional” (read:
unethical) practices.

With two well-known
comedic actors in these two
opposing roles, the audience
can expect some laughs to ensue
and, though the show is billed
as a drama, it doesn’t shy away
from putting Rudd and Ferrell
into preposterous situations.

But it’s difficult at times for the
audience to tell whether the show
is an earnest commentary on the
ability of doctor-patient relation-
ships to become abusive or if it’s a
dramatization of two people’s true
stories. Either way, the writing
strays into farcical territory.

“Shrink Next Door” raises
the stakes quickly — Ike’s
manipulation of Marty is laid
on thick rather than insidious
and slow to burn.

In the show’s second episode,
Ike suggests Marty have a second
bar mitzvah, though, as sister
Phyllis explains, Marty has
already had a bar mitzvah as a
13-year-old, complete with the
participation of his loving family
and prerequisite gastrointestinal
emergencies. The episode — spoilers ahead
— spotlights Marty practicing the
prayers for an aliyah, which Ferrell
manages to pull off with more
success than his New York accent,
and toward the end of the episode,
he ascends to the bimah to read
his Torah portion before freezing
up, only to be assisted by Ike, who
has been dutifully standing beside
him the entire time.

The two finish leyning Marty’s
Torah portion together before the
synagogue erupts with applause.

To a Jewish audience, the
discomfort of this moment is
palpable. It’s clear that even in the
sophomore episode of the show,
Ike has a stronghold over Marty.

But more disturbingly, Ike has
facilitated a pissing contest during
the most sacred part of a Shabbat
service — something clear to a
Jewish audience, but maybe not as
obvious to a gentile one.

For a show that relies heavily
on non-Jewish cast members
to portray Jewish characters,
“The Shrink Next Door” has
no problem delving into Jewish
culture and religion. But with
Rudd and Ferrell not pulling any
punches with acting out their
clear power differential, is it
necessary to show the intimacy
of Jewish practices for the sake of
dramatic effect?
The show is generous with
letting the audience know that Ike
will cross boundaries. At times,
it makes it just as clear that it
will cross a boundary with the
audience as well.

Episode five of the show is
available to stream on Nov. 25. l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM