As we reported last night, Psych has been renewed for an eighth season. The renewal comes two months before the February 27 premiere of season seven.
While the renewal no doubt will make fans happy, the details might not. USA has chosen to order just eight episodes for season eight. This will be the smallest season order for Psych to date. The first season had 15 and all of the later seasons have had 16 installments each.
USA hasn’t said anything about this being the last season yet and likely won’t (if they intend to) for some time. USA’s Ted Linhart, the Senior VP of Research who first announced the renewal, said that when the time comes, the cable channel knows an appropriate ending is deserved.
Here’s the season eight press release:
Are you ready for more delicious flavor?
USA NETWORK PICKS UP SEASON EIGHT OF FAN FAVORITE ORIGINAL COMEDY SERIES “PSYCH”
USA’s Longest Running Series On-Air Will Return With Eight New Episodes
Season Seven Premieres February 27 and This Season will Mark the Series 100th Episode Milestone
NEW YORK – December 20, 2012 – On the heels of a seventh consecutive win as the most-watched cable network, USA Network today ordered an eighth season of its longest running series on-air, and comedy favorite, PSYCH. Santa Barbara’s favorite faux psychic and his sidekick, played by James Roday and Dulé Hill, will return with eight new episodes featuring the zany crimes, hilarious antics and a bevy of guest stars that the series has been known for since its premiere on USA in 2006. The announcement was made today by USA Co-Presidents Chris McCumber and Jeff Wachtel.
“PSYCH is one of those rarities – a show that continues to grow its fan base season after season, with exceptional storytelling, a consistently inspired cast and talented guest stars,” said McCumber and Wachtel. “We thought Shawn Spencer would have seen this coming….”
PSYCH returns for its seventh season on Wednesday, February 27 at 10/9c and this season will also celebrate its 100th episode milestone. The series has also continued to grow with season six performing as the show’s strongest ever among P18-34 and among total viewers, the show’s average last season was 4.5 million – retaining almost all of the Season five audience.
With 2.5 million Facebook fans, affectionately known as PSYCH-Os, this cult favorite stars Roday as a police consultant who solves crimes with powers of observation so acute the precinct detectives think he’s psychic. With help from his best friend and reluctant sidekick (Hill), he continues to solve the mysterious and often bizarre crimes of the Santa Barbara Police Department. PSYCH also stars Corbin Bernsen, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson and Kirsten Nelson.
PSYCH is executive produced by Steve Franks, Kelly Kulchak and Chris Henze, from Universal Cable Productions in association with Tagline Pictures. Mel Damski serves as executive producer/director.
Universal Cable Productions creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across multiple media platforms and outlets for domestic and international distribution. UCP produces “Covert Affairs,” “Psych,” “Royal Pains” and “Suits” for USA; “Alphas,” “Defiance,” and “Warehouse 13” for Syfy and “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome” for distribution on Machinima Prime/YouTube, Syfy and DVD/Blu-Ray. Universal Cable Productions is a division of NBCUniversal.
The #1 network in all of basic cable for an unprecedented seven consecutive years, USA Network is seen in over 102 million U.S. homes. USA is a leader in scripted programming with a powerful stable of originals, spectacular live television and is home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, a broad portfolio of acquired series and entertainment events. A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV. USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. The award-winning website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.
What do you think? Will you be upset if season eight is the last season? Or, is it time for the show to come to an end?
Just went online to see when Psych is starting and see that this might be the last season !!!! This is one of the best shows on TV and would be a shame to see it go !!!!
Tired of the blood and guts detective shows. Psych, while still a police-detective show, adds comedy to the tragic event, without all the gore of most other shows. Plus the mix of characters really mesh together well.
when is the date for the show to come back in 2013 and is maggie lawson going to continue her role as juliet ??? is Kirsten coming back ???
Please say that there will be more Psych! Got to have my Sean and Gus fix every week. Reruns are ok…BUT want new episodes!