Apple TV+ brings us an unexpected, but very welcome,Anchormanreunion, as Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd star in the first trailer for upcoming dark comedy seriesThe Shrink Next Door. The comedic duo will lead the miniseries, which finds Rudd as a psychiatrist who begins to implant himself into the life of one of his patients.
InThe Shrink Next Door, “Everything looks fine… until you see the bigger picture. Take a first look atThe Shrink Next Door, starring Will Ferrell andPaul Rudd. Inspired by the true story of Marty and the therapist who turned his life around…then took it over. When he first meets Dr. Ike, Marty just wants to get better at boundaries. Over 30 years, he’ll learn all about them-and what happens when they get crossed.”
We now live in a world where almost anything can be adapted for a movie: theme park rides, boardgames, and even podcasts, withThe Shrink Next Dooradapting the latter, adding itself to the ever-growing list of this niche trend. Based on a story first told onThe Wonderypodcast back in 2019, the original telling ofThe Shrink Next Doorbegan with veteran journalist Joe Nocera, “whose neighbor in the Hamptons was a therapist named Ike. Ike counted celebrities and Manhattan elites as his patients,” explains the podcast.
“He’d host star-studded parties at his eccentric vacation house. But one summer, Joe discovered that Ike was gone and everything he’d thought he’d known about his neighbor - and the house next door - was wrong.The Shrink Next Doorisa story about power, control and turning to the wrong personfor help for three decades.”
The Shrink Next Dooris directed by Michael Showalter and Jesse Peretz, from a script by Georgia Pritchett. Making up the supporting cast are Casey Wilson as Bonnie Herschkopf, Sarayu Blue as Miriam, andWandaVision’s Kathryn Hahn as Phyllis Markowitz. Hahn also appeared inAnchorman, makingThe Shrink Next Dooreven more of a reunion than first thought.
The Shrink Next Doorseries should give bothWill Ferrelland PaulRudd ample opportunity to once again demonstrate their penchant for comedy, with Rudd in particular clearly relishing the chance to play the wild therapist with some very unorthodox methods. Ferrell meanwhile leans more into the awkward presence audiences don’t see from him often but that he does so well in the likes ofStranger Than Fiction.
The Shrink Next Doorhails from Civic Center Media in association with MRC Television, and both Ferrell and Rudd are on board as executive producers alongside Jessica Elbaum and Brittney Segal. Marshall Lewy, Hernan Lopez and Aaron Hart will serve as executive producers for Wondery and Jared Sandberg, Katie Boyce and Francesca Levy for Bloomberg Media, with the podcast’s host Joe Nocera as co-executive producer.
This wild true story is an Apple Original, withThe Shrink Next Doorscheduled to premiere on July 05, 2025 onApple TV+, with the first three episodes being released altogether and new instalments following each Friday, for a total of eight episodes.
