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Who Are the Returning Characters and Actors in the Monk Movie?
Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie will bring back Tony Shalhoub and several other characters from the USA Nework show.
Charlie Cale can’t have all the mystery-solving fun. Peacock announced this week that it’s adding another title to its impressive library of mystery TV shows and movies as everybody’s favorite obsessive-compulsive detective is coming back for one last case.
The fittingly titled Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie will continue the story of Adrian Monk, the titular character played by Tony Shalhoub on the USA Network TV series. The show, a procedural with a heavy comedic slant, was a cable mainstay in the ‘00s, premiering in 2002 and coming to a conclusion in 2009 when Monk solved the mystery that prompted the whole series: Who killed his wife with a car bomb?
RELATED: Did Monk Ever Find Trudy's Killer? Unraveling The Biggest Monk Mystery
However, that wasn’t his final mystery.
“Monk returns to solve one last, very personal case involving his beloved step-daughter Molly, a journalist preparing for her wedding,” a press release for the movie, which does not yet have a premiere date, reads.
In addition to Shalhoub, Mr. Monk’s Last Case is bringing back a bunch of other familiar Monk faces. Behind the camera, the film boasts the core creative team from the original series, including creator, executive producer and writer Andy Breckman; executive producer David Hoberman; and executive producer/director Randy Zisk. And, there are returning actors as well. Here’s who is coming back in the film.
Tony Shalhoub (Adrian Monk)
Shalhoub is a veteran actor who first broke out playing Antonio Scarpacci in the NBC sitcom Wings in the ‘90s. He’s probably most famous for Monk, where he played the San Francisco homicide detective-turned-neurotic police consultant, but he also stars in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and appeared in movies like Galaxy Quest, Men in Black, and The Siege.
Ted Levine (Captain Leland Stottlemeyer)
Levine plays Captain Stottlemeyer, a close friend and associate of Monk’s who was also his captain back when he was still on the force. Though occasionally annoyed by Monk’s tics, fears, and obsessions, they work quite well together. Levine most famously played Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs, and more recently he played a baddie in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and was a lead in the TV series On Becoming a God in Central Florida.
Traylor Howard (Natalie Teeger)
Howard plays Natalie Teeger, Monk’s assistant who often (tries) to reign him in when his eccentricities get to be a little much. Howard joined the cast of Monk in the third season after Sharona Fleming, who played Monk’s previous assistant Bitty Schram, left the show. In addition to Monk, Howard also starred opposite Ryan Reynolds in Two Guys and a Girl.
Jason Gray-Stanford (Lieutenant Randy Disher)
Gray-Staford’s been all over TV in various guest roles, and he also has a career as a voiceover actor, largely for English dubs of anime. (He voiced Raditz in Dragon Ball Z.) In Monk, his most notable role, he played Lieutenant Randy Disher, a somewhat dim but good-intentioned policeman who ends up together with Monk’s first assistant Sharona in the show’s finale.
Melora Hardin
Hardin, who played Jan Levinson in The Office and Tammy Cashman on Transparent, plays Trudy, Monk’s deceased wife whose murder kicked off the whole series. Chances are she’ll appear in flashbacks and videos, as happened in the show, rather than be resurrected for the movie. Monk’s not that kinda program.
Hector Elizondo (Dr. Neven Bell)
Elizondo, who played Phillip Watters in Chicago Hope and had a main role in Last Man Standing, plays Monk’s therapist Dr. Neven Bell. Elizondo joined the show in the seventh season as Stanley Kamel, the actor who played Monk’s first therapist Dr. Charles Kroger, died after the sixth season and Monk couldn’t go without a therapist of some kind.
All eight seasons of Monk are streaming on Peacock, and The At-Home Variety Show, a special that showed how the Monk characters were doing during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is available on YouTube.
