HBO loves psychiatry. Tony Soprano’s therapy sessions put them on the map, and of the four series they’ve introduced in the post-Sopranos world, two have been psychiatry-based. But while last fall’s Tell Me You Love Me used couples counseling as a framing device for softcore porn, the new In Treatment is all therapy, all the time.
I’m not exaggerating with ‘all the time’. In Treatment airs every weeknight. Five nights a week, and every episode is a counseling session. Monday through Thursday, we see Paul (Gabriel Byrne) treat four regular patients, and on Friday, he meets with his own psychiatrist, Gina (Dianne Wiest). It’s a bold concept, but unfortunately the scheduling is more innovative than the execution.
