TONY SHALHOUB STARS IN USA NETWORK'S HIT SERIES “MONK” WHICH PREMIERES ITS EIGHTH AND FINAL SEASON ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009 AT 9/8C

Season 8 Premiere Episode review by Lena Lamoray
MONK’S final season premiere, MR. MONK’S FAVORITE SHOW, is explosive to say the least and would you expect anything less from such a fantastic show?  When an attempted murder plagues the star of MONK’S favorite show ADRIAN MONK takes the case and exposes us to his super innocent fan groupie side and offers us a glimpse of what he enjoyed growing up.  You also get to witness MONK’S (TONY SHALHOUB) new doo and snappy attire and did I mention NATALIE (TRAYLOR HOWARD) gets really hungry!  What a way to start out the final season.  I don’t know about you but I am certainly going to miss CAPTAIN LELAN STOTTLEMEYER’S (TED LEVINE) mustache,

LT. RANDY DISHER’S (JASON GRAY-STANFORD) band, NATALIE TEEGER’S witty bravery and most of all ADRIAN MONK’S overflowing quirkiness and his ability to keep the antibacterial wipe companies from going under.  The show and characters only got better with time and it is sad to see it end.  Friday night television is losing one of its best series and will not be the same!

USA NETWORK MONK Press Release:
TONY SHALHOUB STARS IN USA NETWORK'S HIT SERIES “MONK” WHICH PREMIERES ITS EIGHTH AND FINAL SEASON ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009 AT 9/8C
Special Season guest stars include Elizabeth Perkins, Rena Sofer, Dylan Baker, Meat Loaf, Bernie Kopell, Jay Mohr, Daniel Stern, Alex Wolff, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Eric Balfour, Kelly Carlson, Vincent Curatola, Reed Diamond and Wallace Langham, with Tim Bagley and Bitty Schram Returning in their Beloved Roles

Dean Parisot Scheduled to Direct Episode

MONK, the critically acclaimed original series starring Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award winner Tony Shalhoub, premieres its eighth and final season on USA Network on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 9/8c.  MONK remains one of the highest-rated original scripted series in basic cable history.

Tony Shalhoub (“Big Night,” “Wings,” “Men in Black,” “Cars”) has earned three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two SAG Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Adrian Monk, a brilliant detective who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Monk's psychological disorder costs him his position as a legendary homicide detective on the San Francisco Police force.  Due to the tragic unsolved murder of his wife, Monk has developed an abnormal fear of germs, heights, crowds and virtually everything else, which provides an unusual challenge to solving crimes … not to mention his day-to-day existence.

Traylor Howard (“Two Guys and a Girl,” “Me, Myself and Irene”), Ted Levine (“Memoirs of a Geisha,” “American Gangster”), Jason Gray-Stanford (“Flags of Our Fathers,” “A Beautiful Mind”), Hector Elizondo (“Chicago Hope,” “Pretty Woman”) and Emmy Clarke (“My House in Umbria,” “Fur”) co-star on the hit original series.

Guest-stars for season eight include Elizabeth Perkins, Rena Sofer, Dylan Baker, Meat Loaf, Bernie Kopell, Jay Mohr, Daniel Stern, Alex Wolff, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Eric Balfour, Kelly Carlson, and Reed Diamond.  Special appearances will also be made by Tim Bagley as Monk's nemesis Harold Krenshaw and Bitty Schram (“A League of their Own”).  Schram co-starred on the show from its inception as Monk’s beloved nurse and “Girl Friday” sidekick, Sharona Fleming. 

Feature director Dean Parisot (“Fun with Dick and Jane”), who directed the MONK pilot (in addition to “Galaxy Quest” with Shalhoub), is scheduled to direct one of the final episodes of the show.

As the series concludes, all of your questions will be answered.  In addition to the return of Sharona and resolution to Monk's efforts for reinstatement to the SFPD, the final episodes will concentrate on solving the murder of Monk’s beloved wife, Trudy.  As the season kicks off, Monk is thrilled to act as a bodyguard to his favorite actress, a former child star (Perkins) who published a tell-all book, when an attempt is made on her life; Monk finds himself increasingly drawn to a case involving a visiting African man (Akinnuoye-Agbaje) who is investigating his beloved wife's hit-and-run death -- a case that strongly resonates with Monk; Natalie becomes convinced a critic (Baker) who panned her daughter Julie's theatrical performance was responsible for a murder at the same time as the show; unmarked dolls sent to San Francisco residents accurately predict a series of inexplicable deaths - including, perhaps, Natalie's.  Monk's phobias threaten to undermine a big murder case when an aggressive defense attorney (Mohr) targets the detective's unconventional methods. Monk must uncover the link between a missing woman and a UFO sighting after he and Natalie get stuck in a small desert town. Monk accompanies Lt. Disher on a camping trip to woo the troublesome son (Wolff) of an officer on the reinstatement committee - and nature turns out to be the least of their worries. Monk assumes the identity of a dead hit-man in an effort to foil an assassination plot, and Monk reluctantly adopts a dog while looking into the suspicious disappearance of its owner. 

MONK is executive produced by David Hoberman ("The Proposal," "Beverly Hills Chihuahua"), Andy Breckman (“Saturday Night Live,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Rat Race”), Tony Shalhoub, Randy Zisk (“House,” “Without a Trace”) and Tom Scharpling ("The Best Show on WFMU").  MONK is from Universal Cable Productions in association with Mandeville Films and ABC Studios.