The second season of '' Monk'' originally aired in the United States on USA Network from June 20, 2003, to March 5, 2004. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Bitty Schram, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised their roles as the main characters. A DVD of the season was released on October 11, 2004.

Crew

Andy Breckman continued his tenure as show runner. Executive producers for the season included Breckman and David Hoberman.

Universal Network Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predece ...

was the primary production company backing the show. The instrumental theme (written by Jeff Beal) was replaced by " It's a Jungle Out There" by

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 ...

. The song received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music, making ''Monk'' the first show to win the award twice. Directors for the season included Randall Zisk,

Jerry Levine Jerry Levine (born March 12, 1957) is an American actor and director of television and theatre. As an actor, he is best known for his roles as Joe on ''Will & Grace'', Stiles in the 1985 feature film ''Teen Wolf'' and Jamie in the 1988 movie ''Ca ...

, and Michael Zinberg. Writers for the season included David Breckman, Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin, Hy Conrad, Daniel Dratch, Michael Angeli, Tom Scharpling, Joe Toplyn, and Andy Breckman.

Cast

All of the main cast from the first season returned: Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, the "defective detective"; Bitty Schram as Sharona Fleming, Monk's forceful nurse and assistant; Ted Levine as

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 ...

of the SFPD; and Jason Gray-Stanford as Lieutenant Randy Disher. The role of

Benjy Fleming 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 ...

(Sharona's son) returned to the original actor, Kane Ritchotte, and

Stanley Kamel Stanley Kamel (January 1, 1943 – April 8, 2008) was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Charles Kroger on the American television series ''Monk''. Biography Kamel was born to a Jewish family and raised in South River, New Jerse ...

returned as Monk's psychiatrist,

Dr. Charles Kroger 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 ...

. Guest stars for the season included Glenne Headly in two episodes as Karen Stottlemeyer, Leland's wife, and Jarrad Paul as Monk's annoying upstairs neighbor,

Kevin Dorfman Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

. John Turturro guest starred as Monk's agoraphobic brother,

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...

, a role that would later win him an Emmy. Tim Curry took over the role of Dale the Whale, originally handled by Adam Arkin in " Mr. Monk Meets Dale the Whale". The part of Trudy Monk, Monk's deceased wife, was played again by Stellina Rusich, but after a recast Melora Hardin replaced her for the role. Amy Sedaris reprised her role as Gail Fleming, and Sarah Silverman made her debut as Monk's biggest fan,

Marci Maven 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 ...

Episodes

*A (HH) listed next to a viewership number indicates the number of household viewers. These are only used if total viewership numbers were unavailable for that particular episode.

Reception

The first season received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, season 2 has an approval rating of 100% based on eight reviews.

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

*Outstanding Actor – Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated) *Outstanding Casting – Comedy Series (nominated) *Outstanding Guest Actor – Comedy Series ( John Turturro for playing "Ambrose Monk" in "Mr. Monk and the Three Pies", won) *Outstanding Main Title Theme Music (

for " It's a Jungle Out There", won)

Golden Globe Awards

*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated) *Best Actress – Musical or Comedy Series (Bitty Schram for playing "Sharona Fleming", nominated) *Best Series – Musical or Comedy (nominated)

Screen Actors Guild

*Outstanding Actor – Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub for playing "Adrian Monk", won)

References

{{Monk (TV series) Monk (TV series) 2003 American television seasons 2004 American television seasons Monk (TV series) seasons