''Psych'' is an American
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
comedy-drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
television series created by
Steve Franks for
USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
. The series stars
James Roday as
Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the
Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive
eidetic memory allow him to convince people that he solves cases with his
psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that a ...
abilities. The program also stars
Dulé Hill as Shawn's intelligent best friend and reluctant partner
Burton "Gus" Guster, as well as
Corbin Bernsen as Shawn's father Henry, a former detective with the Santa Barbara Police Department.
''Psych'' premiered on July 7, 2006, following the
fifth season premiere of ''
Monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
'', and continued to be paired with the series until ''Monk''
's conclusion on December 4, 2009. During the
second season, an animated segment titled "''The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus''" was added to the series. ''Psych'' was the highest-rated American
basic cable
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million American households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found ...
television premiere of 2006.
USA Network renewed the series for an eighth season on December 19, 2012, to include eight episodes, and ordered two more episodes on June 25, 2013, bringing the episode order to ten.
On February 5, 2014, USA Network confirmed that the eighth season of ''Psych'' would be its last, with the series finale airing on March 26, 2014.
''
Psych: The Movie'', a two-hour
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
, aired on USA Network on December 7, 2017, launching the
''Psych'' film series, with Franks's hope being to make five more ''Psych'' movies following ''Psych: The Movie''.
On February 14, 2019, it was announced ''Psych: The Movie 2'' was greenlit and set to premiere in late 2019, for which the main cast would return, but the premiere thereof was subsequently delayed to 2020, with the film renamed ''
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home'', and released on
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
's streaming service,
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
, July 15, 2020, the day the service officially launched.
On May 13, 2021, Peacock announced a third film, ''
Psych 3: This Is Gus'', which premiered on November 18, 2021.
Three further ''Psych'' films were reportedly in development.
Overview
Most episodes begin with a
cold open
A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...
in the form of a flashback to Shawn and Gus's childhoods. The flashbacks usually involve Shawn and Gus being taught a lesson by a young Henry Spencer (Shawn's father) (
Corbin Bernsen), who wishes that his son would follow in his footsteps and become a law enforcement officer. These lessons often play a role for the climax of the episode. As a child, Shawn was taught by Henry to hone his powers of observation and deduction, often using games and challenges to test him. Each flashback also sets the theme for the episode.
Shawn originally becomes known as a psychic when, after calling in tips on dozens of crimes covered on the news which help the police to close the case, the police become suspicious of his knowledge, theorizing that such knowledge could only come from the "inside" and unwilling to believe that it is merely Shawn having honed his observational skills. To avoid being sent to jail, Shawn uses those skills to convince the police that he is psychic; though the interim police chief warns Shawn that if his "powers" are fake, he will be prosecuted. With no choice but to keep up the act, and having proven himself an effective aid to the police in solving crimes, he establishes a
psychic detective
A psychic detective is a person who purports to investigate crimes using paranormal psychic abilities. Claimed techniques and abilities have included postcognition (paranormal perception of the past), psychometry (information psychically gain ...
agency, Psych, and becomes an outside consultant to the police. Pretending to have psychic powers allows him to engage in strange and comic behavior as he turns real clues into hunches and otherworldly visitations. He enjoys teasing lifelong friend Burton Guster (Gus), a pharmaceutical sales representative, about Gus's eclectic interests as they drive around in a blue
Toyota Echo nicknamed "The Blueberry" solving crimes.
Head detective Carlton Lassiter (
Timothy Omundson), playfully nicknamed "Lassie" by Shawn and Gus, quietly comes to respect Shawn's crime-solving skills despite doubting his psychic abilities; Lassiter is constantly exasperated by Shawn keeping investigations ongoing and/or infuriated by Shawn's antics. However, junior detective Juliet "Jules" O'Hara (
Maggie Lawson) and Chief Karen Vick (
Kirsten Nelson) are far less antagonistic – with O'Hara expressing belief in Shawn's abilities while Vick is mum on the subject – and usually willing to give Shawn the leeway he needs to solve cases. Henry and Shawn have a difficult relationship, but despite this, Henry reluctantly helps Shawn on various occasions.
Characters
Main
*
Shawn Spencer (
James Roday) is a freelance consultant with the
Santa Barbara Police Department who pretends to be a psychic.
*
Burton "Gus" Guster (
Dulé Hill) is Shawn's best friend and business partner.
*
Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter (
Timothy Omundson) is the head detective for the Santa Barbara Police Department.
*
Juliet "Jules" O'Hara (
Maggie Lawson) is a junior detective for the Santa Barbara Police Department partnered with Lassiter.
* Henry Spencer (
Corbin Bernsen) is Shawn's uptight and precise father and a former police sergeant.
*
Karen Vick (
Kirsten Nelson) is the SBPD Interim Chief and is later named Chief in "
Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead" (main seasons 2–8, recurring season 1).
*Lucinda Barry (
Anne Dudek) is Lassiter's original partner and love interest in the
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
, she is transferred after Shawn tips off her relationship with Lassiter to the Santa Barbara Police Department (season 1).
Recurring
*
Young Shawn (seasons 1–5:
Liam James; seasons 5–6:
Skyler Gisondo) is the younger version of Shawn Spencer.
*
Young Gus (Carlos McCullers II) is the younger version of Burton "Gus" Guster.
*
Buzz McNab (
Sage Brocklebank) is a naïve but lovable cop who often provides Shawn and Gus with clues.
*
Madeleine Spencer (
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress, singer and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama '' The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jef ...
) is a police psychologist who is Shawn's mother and Henry's ex-wife.
*
Abigail Lytar (
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook (born October 4, 1979) is an American actress and model. She has starred in the films ''The Baby-Sitters Club (film), The Baby-Sitters Club'' (1995), ''She's All That'' (1999), and ''Josie and the Pussycats (film), Josie and ...
) is Shawn's high-school crush, later his girlfriend.
*
Winnie Guster (
Phylicia Rashad) is Gus's mother.
*
Bill Guster (season 2:
Ernie Hudson; season 3:
Keith David) is Gus's father.
*
Mr. Yang
This is a list of characters in the USA Network original comedy-drama television series ''Psych'' and subsequent sequel film series Psych (film series), of the same name, the majority of which have been released to the Peacock (streaming service) ...
(
Ally Sheedy) is a serial killer.
*
Mary Lightly (
Jimmi Simpson) is a department psychologist who is an expert on Mr. Yang.
*
Woody the Coroner (
Kurt Fuller) is a police coroner with whom Shawn shares a mutual respect.
*
Pierre Despereaux (
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor. He starred as Westley in ''The Princess Bride (film), The Princess Bride'' (1987), and also had lead roles in films such as ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) and the Saw (fr ...
) is an extremely elusive international art thief.
*
Declan Rand (
Nestor Carbonell) is a rich criminal profiler.
*
Marlowe Viccellio (
Kristy Swanson) is a woman Lassiter meets and later marries.
* Curt Smith (
himself
A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its Antecedent (grammar), antecedent) within the same sentence.
In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and ref ...
) is the singer of the band
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
.
* Frank O'Hara (
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
) is Juliet's estranged father.
* Rachael (
Parminder Nagra) is Gus's girlfriend.
* Lloyd French (
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...
) is Juliet's stepfather.
*
Harris Trout (
Anthony Michael Hall
Anthony Michael Hall (born Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall; April 14, 1968) is an American actor, producer and comedian. After his film debut in ''Six Pack (film), Six Pack'' (1982) and a supporting role as Russell "Rusty" Griswold in ''Nat ...
) is a special consultant hired by the mayor to increase efficiency at the SBPD.
* Betsy Brannigan (
Mira Sorvino
Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born ) is an American actress. She rose to stardom with her performance as a prostitute in the comedy film ''Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995), which won her both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Academy Award for Best S ...
) takes over as the new head detective when Lassiter is promoted to chief.
* Father Wesley (
Ray Wise
Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 29, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, Twin Peaks (season 3), 2017) and its prequel film ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992). He has appeared ...
) is a Catholic priest and a friend of Shawn and Gus.
Episodes
Production
The show uses
White Rock, British Columbia, Canada for its Santa Barbara, California setting.
Casting
Anne Dudek's character was written out of the series after the character generated a negative test audience reaction with Lassiter due to their relationship. Maggie Lawson was cast as Juliet O'Hara to serve as a replacement.
Theme song
The theme song for ''Psych'' is "I Know You Know" by the Friendly Indians, series creator
Steve Franks's band. Some episodes in the third through eighth seasons use an extended version of "I Know You Know" consisting of the first verse and the chorus, though most episodes use a shortened version consisting of mostly the chorus. In some episodes, the theme song is changed, usually as a tie-in to the theme of the episode to come.
Variations of the theme song include:
* A
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
-themed version in the Christmas episodes, "Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" (2x10), "Christmas Joy" (3x09), and "The Polarizing Express" (5x14)
* A
Spanish-sung version in "Lights, Camera... Homicidio" (2x13) and "No Country for Two Old Men" (7x04)
* A
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
-themed version sung in
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
for "Bollywood Homicide" (4x06)
* An
a cappella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
version performed by
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
in the episodes revolving around Gus's a cappella group, "High Top Fade-Out" (4x07) and "Let's Doo-Wop It Again" (6x13)
* A version recorded by
Curt Smith for "Shawn 2.0" (5x08)
* A version sung by
Julee Cruise in the ''
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...
''-inspired episode, "
Dual Spires" (5x12)
* A superhero-themed version in "The Amazing Psych-Man & Tap-Man, Issue 2" (6x04)
* A ''
The Shining''-inspired version for "Heeeeere's Lassie" (6x11)
Pineapple
In the "
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
", Roday improvised by picking up a
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae.
The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...
and saying, "Should I slice this up for the road?" Since then, pineapples have appeared in every episode as a running gag, whether just one in the background or the actual mention of it. It is Shawn's go-to housewarming gift. The pineapple is a major marketing point for items related to the show on the USA website. Fan movements, such as fan-made websites, have also been dedicated to finding a pineapple or pineapple-related object in each episode.
Series finale aftershow
Following the series finale on March 26, 2014, USA Network aired a live
aftershow entitled "Psych After Pshow." The hour-long special was hosted by
Kevin Pereira and featured series stars and creator/executive producer Steve Franks.
Release
Syndication
In July 2011,
Ion Television
Ion Television (referred to on-air as simply Ion) is an American broadcast television network and FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August ...
announced that ''Psych'' would become part of its 2012 broadcast in syndication. During 2012, reruns of the show mostly ran on Saturdays as a marathon. In 2013, Ion Television announced the acquisition option pick-up of season seven of ''Psych''. It no longer airs on
Ion Television
Ion Television (referred to on-air as simply Ion) is an American broadcast television network and FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August ...
. The deal with NBC Universal Cable & New Media Distribution adds all 16 new episodes of season seven to Ion's existing library of seasons one to six of ''Psych'' and includes rights to future seasons. As of January 2023, ''Psych'' started airing on
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. The show would also air on its sister channel,
Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies.
...
, starting on January 2025. Hallmark airings would feature edited dialogue and scenes to align with the channel's content guidelines.
Home media
Reception
Ratings
''Psych'' scored a 4.51 rating and an average of 6.1 million total viewers at its premiere, which made it the highest-rated scripted series premiere on basic cable in 2006 in all key demographics (households, P18-49, P25-54, and total viewers), according to a
USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
press release, quoted from the Futon Critic.
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
gave the first three seasons of the series an overall 89% "fresh" rating.
Nominations and awards
''Psych'' was the winner of the
Center for Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a U.S. nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal and to fight the influence of religion in government.
History
The Center for Inquiry was established in 1991 by ...
Annual Award for "Excellence in Entertainment" for advancing the cause of science and exposing superstition. Accepting for ''Psych'' was staff writer Daniel Hsia.
James Roday Rodriguez was nominated for the 2006
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy. Rodriguez was also nominated for the 2009
Ewwy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy. ''Psych'' was nominated for its first
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
in 2010 in the category
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) for the episode "Mr. Yin Presents...". Adam Cohen and John Robert Wood were the composers for this episode. ''Psych'' was nominated for its second Emmy Award in 2012 in the category "
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Emerging Media Program" for their interactive game "HashTag Killer". In 2012 and 2013, ''Psych'' was nominated for the
People's Choice Award
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the Fan (person), fans and Public, general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined us ...
for "Best Cable TV Comedy". In 2014, ''Psych'' won the
People's Choice Award
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the Fan (person), fans and Public, general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined us ...
for "Best Cable TV Comedy" in its last nomination.
Other media
Novels
William Rabkin
William Rabkin is an American television producer, television writer and author.
Early life
Rabkin grew up in Berkeley, CA, where his father was a Classics professor. He graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, then received his ...
has written and published five novels based on the series. The novels are written in
third-person narrative
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
style. Additionally,
Chad Gervich (''
Small Screen, Big Picture'') has published a crime-fighting guide based on methods presented in the show.
Film series
Once production on the original series wrapped, series creator
Steve Franks had the idea to bring the ''Psych'' universe back in film form later on. On May 8, 2017, USA Network announced ''
Psych: The Movie'', a two-hour TV film to air December 7, 2017. All the original main cast would return for the film, directed by series creator
Steve Franks and co-written by Franks and series star,
James Roday Rodriguez. The first sequel, ''
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home'', was released on NBCUniversal's new
streaming service,
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
, on July 15, 2020. A third film, ''
Psych 3: This Is Gus'', followed on November 18, 2021.
Three further ''Psych'' films are in development
with the script for ''Psych 4'' reportedly complete.
Podcast
''The Psychologists Are In: A Psych Rewatch''
Launched in November 2021, Maggie Lawson and Timothy Omundson have hosted a weekly
rewatch podcast of the series and films. Episodes include plot recaps and behind-the-scenes memories from the two hosts. The series also features interviews with cast members, guest stars, and crew members, including writers, directors, and series creator Steve Franks.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Psych
2006 American television series debuts
2014 American television series endings
2000s American comedy-drama television series
2010s American comedy-drama television series
2000s American crime drama television series
2010s American crime drama television series
2000s American police comedy television series
2010s American police comedy television series
2000s American police procedural television series
2010s American police procedural television series
American crime comedy television series
American English-language television shows
Television series by Universal Television
Television shows set in Santa Barbara, California
Television shows filmed in Vancouver
USA Network television dramas
American detective television series
Television series by Universal Content Productions