Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd, the great Apple TV Plus comedy, has a haunting first trailer

Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd, the great Apple TV Plus comedy, has a haunting first trailer

The Shrink Next Door, a new high-profile dark comedy series directed by Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd, is coming to Apple TV Plus in November, and we finally have our first trailer. Inspired by true events, the eight-episode show will follow the relationship between renowned psychiatrist Dr. Isaac "Ike" Herschkopf (Rudd) and his longtime patient Martin "Marty" Markowitz (Ferrell). Ferrell and Rudd will executive produce the highly anticipated series, written by award-winning writer Georgia Pritchett (Estate, Veep) and based on the hit Bloomberg podcast of the same name. The trailer offers a glimpse into the dysfunctional relationships of Rudd's exploitative psychiatrist, Ike, who finds his way into the life of Ferrell's Marty. There's humor, sure, but the show seems to keep a serious tone as it investigates the ethics of psychiatry, therapy, and manipulation. The Shrink Next Door also stars Kathryn Hahn, who starred with Ferrell and Rudd in 2004's Anchorman, as Marty's younger sister Phyllis, and Casey Wilson (Gone Girl) as Ike's wife Bonnie.

The big Apple

The new trailer comes amid a period of real promise for Apple TV Plus, which has seen, and will continue to see, the addition of several high-profile movies and TV shows of late. In recent months we've seen the likes of Cherry, The Mosquito Coast, and Lisey's Story hit the streamer, with several other projects, including The Shrink Next Door, ongoing or underway. The Sam Neill-directed sci-fi thriller Invasion, for example, also received a new trailer last week, adding to the catalog of big-budget projects headed for Apple TV Plus. Whether they're any good, of course, remains a mystery, but it's exciting to see Apple battle Netflix, Disney Plus, and HBO Max.