Good news and bad news for fans of USA’s Monk TV show. The network has renewed it for an eight season but has also announced that there won’t be a ninth year of dysfunctional sleuthing.
Monk tells the tale of Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), a brilliant San Francisco detective who, after the death of his wife in a car bombing, has a nervous breakdown. After being a recluse for three years, Monk returns to the force, barely able to control his obsessive-compulsive disorder. Monk’s many phobias make it difficult for him to function but, because he’s hyper-aware of the world around him, he’s an incredibly observant sleuth.
Though they’re often irritated by his disorder, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lieutenant Randall “Randy” Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) utilize Monk’s abilities when cases get tough. Monk is helped by assistant Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram) and later by Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard).
The TV show debuted on July 12, 2002 on the USA network. The show began as a modest success and grew its audience to an average of 6.1 million viewers in season six. This year’s episodes have been averaging five million viewers, 40% of which are from the desirable 18-49 demographic. The numbers are even more impressive when you consider that the series airs on Friday nights, a little-watched night of television.
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USA has renewed the series for an eighth season of 16 episodes but those will end the series. With the show’s viewership still growing, why finish it now? The decision to end the series is said to be a mutual one between all parties involved. Though they maintain that they want to end Monk while the show is still on top creatively, the reason for the cancellation comes down to dollars and cents. As the seasons have progressed, production costs have increased and the network likely finds it hard to justify episodes’ high pricetags.
USA’s Executive VP of Original Programming, Jeff Wachtel, assures that viewers won’t be disappointed by the final episodes. In a statement, he said, “Our fans have been extremely dedicated, and season eight should prove to be a very satisfying reward.” It’s rumored that the final episodes will bring the character full circle, centering around the killer of Monk’s beloved wife.
A special holiday episode of Monk is slated for November 28th and season seven episodes will continue in January 2009. Monk’s last 16 episodes are scheduled to begin airing sometime next summer. Stay tuned! 
my father loves this series so much it’s 4th time he is watching this i like to watch monk with him,i hope one day they decide to creat more episodes
I never understood why monk was cancelled, most shows get 24 episodes a season, not 16 and while im not saying it would still be making new episodes today, it could have lasted atleast 10 seasons, i would have LOVED to see him more relaxed after solving his wife’s murder, see Natalie get re married, see what happened to Julie and the relationship with Monk and molly, they could have done so much more, but hey, im glad it was on and i can watch it 24/7 if i choose to, i was surprised it never filmed a movie, like… Read more »
I just couldn’t tolerate Monk’s obsessive compulsive behavior and his constant displays of germophobia. I’d much rather watch paint dry than to watch an episode of Monk.
I really miss my favorite show Monk! Its been off the air for years now, but even still I look for the repeated shows & marathons just so I can still get my “Monk needs” met! It’s frustratingly hard though, because so many channels only play the most ‘so-called-popular’ episodes, & that’s not fair! Because they are ALLLLL popular because the entire show was popular! But I have seen so many repeated & I can’t afford to buy the entire 8 seasons. So I am pleading with the creator, cast, & anyone reading who could lend a hand in bring… Read more »
Angie, you can watch all the monk series on a tv app called peacock. So just go to peacock tv, sign up it’s free. It is similar to netflix but free, has some great content.
Hey, MONK is on everyday , its on at 2pm on the hallmark channel, 3 episodes then at night they show them again, then, its on a channel called METv on sunday nights at 8pm, then, its on a channel called WE tv, so its actually pretty easy to find most days, you can also buy episodes for 1.99$ each on demand, but you may just wanna buy the entire series on dvd, the money will be worth it to watch it anytime and watch YOUR favorite episodes, i have it and i love it, its 50$ off ebay, brand… Read more »
Bring Monk back please
I JUST LOVE THE SHOW ! AND I HUMBLY REQUEST THE DIRECTOR TO CONTINUE MONK. PLEASE. THIS SHOW MEANS MY LIFE TO ME ! PLEASE
I love this show and wish Cloo would continue to broadcast Monk.
i loved this show i never missed a single episode please bring it back that will be the best thing that has ever hapend to me
I love this series. I just got back from my night shift and I have an opening shift tomorrow but I still watch Monk before I sleep. My sister especially books off every Friday just to watch Monk. Would love to see more of Monk!
I have to say that I really miss the show Monk. I still catch reruns on ION tv. But gesh this is like a long lost friend that I really miss. Monk was one of those shows that was laid back but at the same time very entertaining. From Monk they have started Psych which I also love, and one can’t help but think the Mentalist and the new series Elementary are all because Monk was such a success. And I have to agree that many people didn’t know about the show. But once you watched a few your would… Read more »