San Francisco’s finest detective, Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), is coming out of retirement for the upcoming Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie.
Peacock announced the movie in March, revealing that Shalhoub would revive his USA Network character, known as Monk, for a fresh case involving someone special in his life. Shalhoub previously played the OCD detective on Monk from 2002 to 2009.
“It’s Monk present day after however long we’ve been away from him, 13 years now, going on 14 years,” Shalhoub teased to Entertainment Weekly in March. “This is post-COVID. Monk has been knocked back on his heels because of COVID. He’s older. He’s not going to be chasing down things on the street and things like that. Hopefully (laughs). We’re going to have to write to the fact that Monk’s older.”
While he wouldn’t give away much of the plot, Shalhoub said, “I’m really excited about revisiting it because when we ended it, it really felt like that was going to be it. But to have this opportunity to see where we all are [is special]. All of the characters have gone through some changes in those years.”
Scroll down for everything we know about Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie:
How Did ‘Monk’ End?
The USA Network series concluded with a two-part finale, “Mr. Monk and the End,” in which Monk finally apprehended his late wife Trudy’s murderer. The off-kilter detective — who was on a leave of absence from the police force because of Trudy’s death when the show began — also met Trudy’s daughter, Molly, whom she had from an affair. Monk and Molly’s interaction served as another form of closure for the crime fighter.
Which ‘Monk’ Stars Are Returning for the Movie?
Original cast members Ted Levine (as Leland Stottlemeyer), Traylor Howard (Natalie Teeger), Jason Gray-Stanford (Randy Disher), Melora Hardin (Trudy Monk) and Hector Elizondo (Dr. Neven Bell) will all be back for the project alongside Shalhoub. Bitty Schram, who played Monk’s first assistant/nurse, Sharona, will be featured in flashbacks. Newbies Caitlin McGee (the new Molly, replacing Alona Tal) and James Purefoy (as egotistical billionaire Rick Eden) will round out the cast.
What Is ‘Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie’ About?
In a post-COVID world, Monk “returns to solve one last case involving his stepdaughter, Molly, a journalist preparing for her wedding,” the logline reads.
“The pandemic threw Monk — and me and you and everyone reading this — for a huge loop, and he was suddenly back at square one,” creator Andy Breckman told Entertainment Weekly in October. “So the movie finds Monk in a pretty dark place, and he’s back in a hole that he has to try to dig out of emotionally.” Monk chooses to throw himself into the case of Molly’s murdered fiancé, which also helps him deal with the aftermath of COVID.
When and Where Will the ‘Monk’ Movie Premiere?
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie premieres on Peacock Friday, December 8.
