The eighth and final season of '' Monk'' originally aired in the United States on USA Network from August 7 to December 4, 2009. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised their roles as the main characters. A DVD of the season was released on March 16, 2010.

Crew

Andy Breckman continued his tenure as show runner. Executive producers for the season included Breckman, David Hoberman, series star Tony Shalhoub, writer Tom Scharpling, and Rob Thompson. Universal Media Studios was the primary production company backing the show.

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

's theme (" It's a Jungle Out There") was continued to be used, while Jeff Beal's original instrumental theme could be heard in some episodes. Newman also wrote a song for the final episode entitled ''When I'm Gone''. The song was accompanied by a montage of past and present characters from the show, leading the series into the final end credits. Directors for the season included

Randall Zisk Randall "Randy" Zisk is an American television director and producer. He graduated from the University of Southern California and is a native of Dallas, Texas, where he graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas. His brother, Craig Zisk, also wo ...

, Michael Zinberg, David Breckman, and Andrei Belgrader.

Dean Parisot Aldo Luis "Dean" Parisot (born July 6, 1952) is an American film and television director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for ''The Appointments of Dennis Jennings'', which was co-written by and starred comedian Ste ...

returned to direct "Mr. Monk and the Badge". It was his only credit in the series, apart from the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

. Writers for the season included Michael Angeli, Andy Breckman, David Breckman, Hy Conrad, Tom Gammill, Dylan Morgan, Max Pross, Salvatore Savo, Josh Siegal, Joe Toplyn, Tom Scharpling, and Peter Wolk.

Cast

All four main characters returned for the final season. Tony Shalhoub returned as former homicide detective Adrian Monk, with Traylor Howard returning as Monk's faithful assistant,

Natalie Teeger The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cast ...

. Ted Levine returned as the SFPD captain,

Leland Stottlemeyer The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cast ...

, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised his role as the lovable but oblivious

Lieutenant Randy Disher The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cast ...

. Hector Elizondo returned as Monk's new psychiatrist,

Dr. Neven Bell The following is a list of characters of '' Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principa ...

Emmy Clarke Mary Elizabeth Clarke (born September 25, 1991), better known as Emmy Clarke, is a former American actress. Early life Clarke was born in Mineola, New York, but at the age of one she moved with her parents to Houston, Texas. At age six, she mov ...

continued to portray

Julie Teeger The following is a list of characters of ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series, created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. Except for two changes, the principal cast ...

. Virginia Madsen entered the series as Stottlemeyer's new girlfriend (and later wife), Trudy K. Jensen. Melora Hardin reprised her role as Trudy Monk (Monk's deceased wife), and Casper Van Dien returned as Lt. Steven Albright, Natalie's new love interest.

Tim Bagley Timothy Hugh Bagley (born August 17, 1957) is an American actor and comedian, who has appeared in numerous films and television programs. He had recurring roles on the TV series ''Will & Grace'', ''Hope & Gloria'', ''Strip Mall'', ''According to ...

returned to resolve Harold Krenshaw's (Monk's number-one rival) plotline. Craig T. Nelson entered as Judge Ethan Rickover in the penultimate episode.

D. B. Woodside David Bryan Woodside (born July 25, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as the bass singer Melvin Franklin in ''The Temptations (TV miniseries), The Temptations'', Robin Wood (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Robin Woo ...

entered in the same episode as Monk's physician, Dr. Matthew Shuler. Alona Tal made an appearance in the final episode as Trudy's daughter, Molly Evans. Bitty Schram made a special appearance as Sharona Fleming, Monk's former nurse (Schram was a former cast member, who left during the third season). Other guest stars for the eighth season included Brooke Adams, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje,

Sarah Aldrich Sarah Aldrich (born February 10, 1970) is an American actress. Biography Aldrich was born in Los Angeles, Sarah spent her childhood in Northern California. She first discovered her love for the theater in college, prompting her to attend the Ame ...

, Dylan Baker, Eric Balfour,

Ed Begley, Jr. Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmental activist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series '' St. ...

Jack Betts Jack Fillmore Betts, also credited as Hunt Powers, is an American character actor and playwright. He has acted in film, on stage, and on television. Career Betts portrayed Chris Devlin in the CBS mystery series ''Checkmate'' (1960-1962). He a ...

Kelly Carlson Kelly Lee Carlson (born February 17, 1976) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Kimber Henry in the FX drama series ''Nip/Tuck''. Career Carlson was raised in Bloomington, Minnesota, and attended the Academy o ...

Ian Paul Cassidy Ian Paul Cassidy (born 4 November 1964) is an English actor who has appeared mainly in American and Australian productions. In 2000 he played Cracker Bob in '' Highlander: Endgame'' and in 2001 he had a starring role in the drama series '' The ...

Shelly Cole Shelly Cole is a former American actress. Career Born in Texas, Cole commenced her acting career appearing in TV movies and TV series. In 2003, she landed a main role in the film, ''Prey for Rock & Roll''. One of her best-known roles was that o ...

, Vince Curatola, Reed Diamond, Mary Beth Evans, Michael Fairman, Mark Harelik,

Jesse Heiman Jesse Wayne Heiman (born May 23, 1978) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his uncredited work as an extra in a wide variety of films and television shows. He is also known for appearing in a GoDaddy commercial at Super Bowl XLVII, ...

Carol Kane Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as '' Hester Street'' (for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress), ''Dog Day Afternoon'', ''Annie ...

Bernie Kopell Bernard Morton Kopell (born June 21, 1933) is an American character actor known for his roles as Siegfried in ''Get Smart'' from 1966 to 1969 and as Dr. Adam Bricker ("Doc") on ''The Love Boat'' from 1977 to 1986. Early beginnings Kopell was bor ...

, Wallace Langham, Meat Loaf, Louis Lombardi, John Carroll Lynch,

Jay Malone Jay Malone is a Canadians, Canadian comedian from Kentville, Nova Scotia. Early career Malone began doing standup comedy in 1999 while studying at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Fredericton. He entered a comedy co ...

, Jack McGee, Lex Medlin, Jay Mohr, Elizabeth Perkins,

Teri Polo Theresa Elizabeth Polo (born June 1, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Pam Byrnes-Focker in the ''Meet the Parents'' trilogy and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster in the Freeform series '' The Fosters'' (2013–201 ...

, Sarah Rush, Rena Sofer, Daniel Stern, Eric Stonestreet,

Karen Strassman Karen Strassman (born June 5 is an American stage, television and voice actress who has provided English language voices for Japanese anime shows, animation, and video games. Some of her major roles are Kallen Stadtfeld in the ''Code Geass'' seri ...

, Jack Wagner, Gary Weeks, Christina Vidal,

Chandra West Chandra K. West (born December 31, 1970) is a Canadian actress. Early life and education West was born in Edmonton, Alberta, the youngest of eight children. The family moved to Oak Bay, British Columbia, where she attended Monterey Elementary ...

, Wade Williams, and Alex Wolff.

Episodes

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The award is presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emm ...

(Tony Shalhoub, nominated) *Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (

, won)

Screen Actors Guild

*Outstanding Actor – Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)

References

{{Monk (TV series) Monk (TV series) 2009 American television seasons Monk (TV series) seasons