“‘The Shrink Next Door’ is a story about power, control and turning to the wrong person for help for three decades.”
There’s something about true stories turned movies/TV shows that just seems to work – heck, look at the Conjuring franchise – and the entertainment industry knows it. Whether it’s the fear that such a situation is possible (i.e. being haunted by a vengeful ghost) or the unimaginable circumstances of the situation (like that of Aron Ralston, who inspired 127 Hours), we can’t help but be drawn to the retelling of real-life stories.
One such story is that of Martin “Marty” Markowitz. Here’s what happened…
Marty was overwhelmed. His parents had just passed away and he was having a hard time adjusting to losing them and having to take over the family business. So, needing help, he went to see a psychiatrist, Dr Isaac “Ike” Herschkopf. But under the guise of helping Marty, Ike slowly started taking over his life. Without him realising, Ike built a relationship with Marty that isn’t dissimilar to that of a toxic partner. Marty was cut off from his friends and before he knew it, Ike moved into Marty’s home and managed to persuade Marty to name him president of the family business.
The details of what happened to Marty came to light in a 2019 podcast titled, “The Shrink Next Door”, a 10 episode podcast hosted by journalist Joe Nocera. The podcast has since been picked up for an upcoming dark comedy series (with the same name) starring Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. But…
It sounds absolutely mindboggling, no? How could a person trust an absolute stranger that much? Well, speaking to ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, Ferrell – who has been cast to play Marty – said:
“And the thing that intrigued me the most was the fact that you hear the premise of what the podcast is about and what has happened in broad strokes to a guy like Marty, and your initial reaction is, ‘Oh, that would never happen to me. There’s no way I would fall under the spell of a therapist and give over my entire life to them.’ And then you start digging in and you see the death by a thousand cuts of, ‘Oh, no, I now see how that could happen to me.'”
The emotions in the trailer for the show seem to back this up, as you see a dejected Marty slowly fall for the charming Ike (played by Rudd).
Are you hooked on the premise? “The Shrink Next Door” will be made available on Apple TV+ on November 12, 2021. The series also stars Kathryn Hahn as Phyllis, Marty’s younger sister, and Casey Wilson as Bonnie, the wife of Dr Herschkopf. The story will be told in an eight-episode limited series, with the first three episodes released first, and a new episode then released every week.
*Cover image credits: Apple TV+