"The Shrink Next Door" explores the true story of how a seemingly innocent therapist-patient relationship evolves into a toxic and, at times, dangerous codependency. Set in the early '80s, the series centers on Marty Markowitz, the boss of a textile company, who, seeking out therapy, settles on Ike Herschkopf. Ike is known as the go-to therapist for many celebrities and other elites — but after Marty begins seeing Ike, their relationship changes as Ike inserts himself into every aspect of Marty's life. Eventually, Ike goes so far as to take over Marty's home and work life and come between Marty and his family.
We can likely expect the series to depict this real life story quite accurately. Not only is it based on a heavily researched podcast by journalist Joe Nocera, but Ferrell and Rudd reached out to the real Marty — as well as Norcera — to hear the story from the source and talk to Marty in-depth about his experiences.
Ferrell told Entertainment Weekly, "When we sat down with him, he was just literally an open book and allowed us to have access to him whenever we needed to call him up again or send him an email. But there was never any, 'Make sure you portray me in a certain way,' or 'Do this, or do that.' He was just very open to answering any and every question that we had for him." We can't wait to see how "The Shrink Next Door" plays out when it premieres in November. Catch it on AppleTV+ on November 12.
