Written by Ronnie Gorham
After more than a 10-year hiatus, the HBO Max series In Treatment returns. The show’s basic plot gives viewers a fly-on-the-wall viewpoint of therapy sessions between psychologists and their patients. Although the first three seasons starred Gabriel Byrne as psychotherapist Paul Weston, the fourth season ushers in some new blood in actress Uzo Aduba. She plays Dr. Brooke Taylor with the same primary goal: treat people who have mental or emotional difficulties while studying how people think and act. In Treatment showcases an exciting and engaging way of viewing episodic television that serves up an educational and informative purpose.
During the newest season, most episodes play out with a checker/chess structural method of dialogue that gives the viewer an intimate look into each character’s trials and tribulations. We’re introduced to one character’s problems and then switched to another to keep each episode fresh and entertaining. For example, episode one focuses on a home health aide named Eladio (Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) and his dilemmas with sleeplessness. But episode two focuses on an entrepreneur who is newly released from prison. The show, much like its predecessor, does a superior job of keeping the focus on the patient.
What’s unorthodox about the show but works well is how its writing doesn’t follow the usual tropes you expect. Typically in a program with this kind of setting, we’d get a character like Aduba’s Brooke riddled with trauma of her own, and the show would cut away to moments of her life and an entirely separate storyline like Grey’s Anatomy. But here, the show uses Brooke Taylor as a vessel to get across the patients’ messages and to flesh out their problems. Brooke is internally battling her father’s death when we meet her, but the show doesn’t dramatize it. Instead, for the most part, it’s utilized as a strength for her to help others. And the show takes place during the pandemic, giving it a genuine and authentic feel that viewers can get behind.
Uzo Aduba is phenomenal as Dr. Brooke Taylor. Seeing her go from Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Orange Is the New Black to Brooke Taylor, psychoanalyst, is a true testament to her versatility as an actress. The way she’s able to counteract each reaction from her patients is both believable and on point. It’s a significant role that breaks away from stereotypical characters African American women are cast in. In addition, it’s also noteworthy that the opening sequence of blue water was changed to orange as a homage to the show that made Uzo Aduba famous.
Overall, In Treatment comes back to television during a pivotal moment when mental health is at an all-time high, thanks partly to the pandemic. As a result, it’s an excellent vehicle to get conversations started on and off the show. The power of pop culture has a lasting effect on people’s livelihoods, and shows like In Treatment are a part of that journey.
