The defective detective is returning, and if you thought Adrian Monk was weird before, wait till you see him in the Monk reunion movie.
Tony Shalhoub has shared a few hints of what’s coming in the just-announced Peacock original movie Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Mystery, a revival of the acclaimed 2002-2009 USA Network series Monk. Shahoub will reprise his role as Adrian Monk, a brilliant detective saddled with obsessive-compulsive disorder, among other issues.
The series was a hit for eight seasons, with Shalhoub nominated eight times at the Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, winning three awards. This will be a much-awaited return for not just Shalhoub but much of the cast of the series, like Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, Jason Gray-Stanford and Hector Elizondo.
So far, the only plot details are that Monk handles a case while attending his goddaughter Molly’s wedding. But now, a few new hints are coming courtesy of the actor himself.
What does Tony Shalhoub say about the Monk reunion movie?
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Shalhoub revealed the movie follows a 2020 online special the cast did showing Monk handling the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Naturally, a global pandemic was a nightmare for the germaphobe Monk, and it’s indicated he still hasn’t fully recovered. While not giving more details on the case, Shalhoub did reveal that the movie will lean into Monk being much older and dealing with a different world.
"“It’s Monk present day after however long we’ve been away from him, 13 years now, going on 14 years. 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.”"
Shalhoub is keeping busy as he’s about to star in the final season of the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Masiel (which earned him another Emmy award). But he’s clearly ready to get back to his signature role.
"“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 to see where we all are [is special]. All of the characters have gone through some changes in those years.”"
It’s obvious Shalhoub is as excited to get back into the role of Monk as fans are and make this reunion movie a delight.