Michael Urie’s Brian is one of the most confident characters on television right now, and he’s so confident on Shrinking that he enters a room with a pronouncement and/or theme song. Who wouldn’t love harnessing that amount of gumption throughout our daily lives. What’s even more satisfying, though, is when you see an enormously charismatic person knocked askew by unexpected twists. Critics Choice winner Michael Urie takes our beloved Brian to new comedic heights in season two of the Apple TV comedy by giving us a glimpse into gay father reluctance stress.
Comparing Urie’s character as a Muppet is something that the actor took as a deep compliment. As someone who has been compared to a Jim Henson creation a few times in my life, it’s that feeling when your emotions come out as flailing gesticulations. Maybe your arms fly up of their own accord or your mouth yaps faster than your brain can keep up. Urie has always been a subtly physical performer, but Brian’s frustration limit is tested in various ways in Shrinking‘s sophomore season.
Right off the bat, he discovers that Jimmy and Gaby were hooking up, and no one bothered to tell him. Brian takes that rage out on fellow hikers. His main arc throughout season two is when his husband, Devin Kawaoka’s Charlie, expresses his desire to become a father, and it’s something that not a lot of other shows and films have explored. Urie and I discuss how when Marriage Equality passed nearly a decade ago, a lot of queer and gay couples assumed that they would have a traditional heteronormative family. Are Brian’s fears justified or is he holding onto a shred of independence that should be relinquished? Urie takes Brian’s fears and gives them such hearty weight.
Brian is more intertwined with Jimmy’s arc as Jason Segel’s character comes to terms with forgiving Brett Goldstein’s Louis. I love how the writers introduced Louis to Brian first as the season begins. I often wonder how Brian’s grieved Tia, and the scripts give Urie space to explore Brian’s compassion and acceptance. There are so many moments throughout this season where Brian resists the urge to make a joke and, instead, reaches out towards comfort.
The Peter Pan elements to Urie’s Brian will never go away–we don’t want them to–but maybe this snarky lawyer will spend more time away from Neverland to grow up in the smallest of increments.
Shrinking is streaming now on Apple TV+.
