Monk fans rejoice! According to Tony Shalhoub, a Monk revival film project is happening. Speaking with Dr. Loubna Hassanieh on Unheard Stories, Shalhoub said that, after 13 years, a Monk film is in development for streaming with original cast members returning.
Monk is the USA series that follows Adrian Monk (Shalhoub), a brilliant former San Francisco detective who aids the police as a private consultant who battles with an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford, Ted Levine, Stanley Kamel, and Bitty Schram featured alongside Shalhoub in the original series. Monk lasted for eight seasons, totaling 125 episodes.
“We’re doing a Monk 90-minute movie for streaming, and we’re going to start shooting that in May,” Shalhoub told Dr. Loubna Hassanieh. “It’s Monk post-COVID, so he’s in trouble. So we’re bringing everybody back, all of the characters for a 90-minute streaming thing.”
Oh boy! I bet Monk does not handle the Covid pandemic well. I thought about Adrian Monk several times during the pandemic, often wondering if he’d weather the lockdown gracefully or recede into his neurosis. I would not blame him for setting up camp inside a clean room and staying there for the rest of eternity.
In addition to being one of the most-watched scripted dramas on television, Monk produced nineteen novels by writers Lee Goldberg and Hy Conrad. The hit series also generated a ten-episode prequel web series called Little Monk. The Monk revival film is not the first time the detective confronted Covid. In 2020, Shalhoub and other cast members starred in Mr. Monk Shelters in Place, a short designed for Peacock Presents At-Home Variety Show. Thankfully, the Monk revival is a more extended presentation, giving the characters room to explore the Covid era in a 90-minute format.
What do you think about Shalhoub and his friends returning for a Monk revival film? How many masks do you think Adrian will wear while venturing out to solve a case during the pandemic? I haven’t seen Monk in what feels like ages. Still, I’m excited about the characters returning to confront the pandemic era. How about you? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.