Detective Monk and friends return in first look at “Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie”
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Adrian Monk's powers of observation might be a gift...and a curse, but the first glimpse of new Peacock project Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie is only a gift. Full stop.
Monk, which ran from 2002 to 2009 on USA Network and snagged eight Emmy Awards, ended over a decade ago. But creator Andy Breckman hasn't stopped thinking about the defective detective in the years since. "Monk has been a big part of my life for the last 10 or 12 years, and the character that I'm proudest of probably in my career," he tells EW. "I was always hoping for a chance to revisit him the way you would want to revisit an old friend."
Steve Wilkie/PEACOCK Tony Shalhoub in 'Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'
The first opportunity to check in on Monk (Tony Shalhoub) came during the early months of COVID-19, which Breckman says led to a major uptick in fans asking about the status of the detective. "During the lockdown, everyone was asking me, and I'm sure they were asking Tony, 'Gosh, I wonder how Monk would fare?' Or, 'Maybe Monk would thrive because he was suddenly in his element living in a bubble.' Everyone was asking about Monk and concerned about Monk and curious about Monk during the lockdown."
Breckman calls Shalhoub, who won three Emmys for his portrayal of Monk across eight seasons and is celebrating his 70th birthday today, the "heart and soul of the franchise." So, of course, it was crucial that he also be interested in exploring where and how the character is today. Fortunately, he was.
Steve Wilkie/PEACOCK Tony Shalhoub and Melora Hardin in 'Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'
Once Shalhoub was on board to return, Breckman knew they had something. This led to the creation of a short featuring the Monk characters for Peacock's At-Home Variety Show, titled "Mr. Monk Shelters in Place," in which Monk caught up with his pals and detailed his lockdown routine. "Tony and his wife, Brooke Adams, did that four-minute mini-episode from their apartment," details Breckman. "It was directed by Brooke, and NBC actually dropped off the equipment in the hallway outside their apartment."
The positive response to the short led NBC to reach out to Breckman and his producing partner, David Hoberman, about the possibility of making a reunion film for Peacock. Thus, Mr. Monk's Last Case was born.
PEACOCK Hector Elizondo and Tony Shalhoub in 'Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'
But fans won't find the Monk they left behind in 2009. The two-part finale, "Mr. Monk and the End," finally gave Monk and the audience answers about his wife Trudy's (Melora Hardin) murder, leading to a hope that Adrian might be on the road to recovery from the more severe symptoms of his OCD.
But recent events upended all of that. "The pandemic threw Monk — and me and you and everyone reading this — for a huge loop, and he was suddenly back at square one," says Breckman. "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."
Digging out of that hole involves, of course, throwing himself into a case (and some therapy sessions with Hector Elizondo's Dr. Bell, as evidenced in the first look photos). In the series finale, Monk met Molly (now played by Caitlin McGee), Trudy's daughter from an affair. Their relationship was very new last we left them, but the two have become close in the time away. "Molly has been Monk's support system for the last 10 years and has served him well," notes Breckman. "And there's clearly affection between them."
PEACOCK Caitlin McGee in 'Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'
When Molly's fiancé is murdered, Monk devotes himself to solving the case, once again throwing himself into a mystery with a deeply personal connection to his own life. "When people ask me what the original series was about, I always say it was about loss," says Breckman. "It was Monk dealing with the loss of his beloved wife, Trudy. And that, of course, we solved in the series finale. But the movie presents Monk with an equally emotional challenge that he has to step up and address. We found a way to raise the stakes yet again for this poor guy."
Raising the stakes includes putting Monk in a hazmat suit. We know Monk loves his hand wipes and disinfectant, but this tactic for dealing with his germaphobia is on a new level. "Monk, like all of us, spent a few months at the peak of the pandemic in a hazmat suit, either literally or figuratively," Breckman teases. "There are one or two mini flashbacks in the movie, and that photo (below) might be from one of the pandemic flashbacks."
Steve Wilkie/PEACOCK Tony Shalhoub in 'Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'
The movie also finds Monk facing off against a new foe, Rick Eden (played by Rome's James Purefoy), an egotistical billionaire obsessed with becoming the first civilian to orbit the Earth. If that sounds a lot like some contemporary figures, that's by design.
"The best stories are ones where Monk is going up against someone very, very powerful, very strong, and very dismissive of him — someone that underestimates Monk from the beginning," Breckman says. "In this world, there's no one more powerful than these Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos type of characters. In this case, the James Purefoy character is building a rocket. He's sending himself into space."
Steve Wilkie/PEACOCK Ted Levine and James Purefoy in 'Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'
Adds Breckman: "You might be interested to know that when I pitched this story to Peacock, the first thing I said in the pitch was that the rocket never takes off because I wanted to reassure them it was not going to cost $300 million."
While Purefoy and McGee are new to the proceedings, most of the cast will be familiar to Monk fans. Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), and Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard) are all back. And while Sharona (Bitty Schram) isn't in any of these first-look images, Adrian's first nurse, who went on to marry Randy, will make an appearance via flashbacks.
Steve Wilkie/PEACOCK Traylor Howard, Tony Shalhoub, Jason Gray-Stanford, and Ted Levine in 'Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie'
"We really did feel like we were getting the band back together," he muses. "We only had an hour and a half so we had to be a little selective, but Sharona is a presence in the movie, and we're happy to see her. I wish she was in more, but she's there. As for Monk's Brother Ambrose (John Turturro), that might be reason enough to hope for a sequel to this movie since we didn't get to see him again."
That's right – the TV movie might be titled Mr. Monk's Last Case, but Breckman is certainly hoping that won't be literal, just as the series finale — the title of which includes the words "the end" — has not turned out to be that.
"'The End' was not the end and the 'Last Case' we hope is not really the last case," he says. "I have an idea for a sequel that I'd love to do, and if the gods smile on this project, I hope we get a chance to continue our journey."
As long as there are plenty of wet wipes.
Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie debuts Dec. 8 on Peacock.
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