There was a period of time where my family watched every single show on USA Network. Seriously, we watched White Collar, Burn Notice, Monk, In Plain Sight, and Royal Pains, but my favorite was Psych.
Shawn Spencer (James Roday, A Million Little Things) is a “psychic” working for the Santa Barbara Police Department to solve cases along with his partner and best friend Gus (Dulé Hill, Holes). The only kicker is he’s not a real psychic; his father, Henry (Corbin Bernsen, Major League), is a former police detective who trained Shawn to be more observant than the normal person. Shawn and Gus work with detectives, Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson, Galavant) and Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson, Outmatched) and Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson, The Fugitive) to catch criminals. Psych ran for eight seasons from 2006-2014.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of this moment in time is the opportunity to revisit tv shows that you loved. It’s even better when the cast of the show reunites to host a marathon of the show. Such is the case for Psych. USA Network has been replaying the show two seasons at a time, starting at 6 a.m. They are currently on season six and seven, and honestly you could jump into the show at any time and enjoy it. If you wanted to start the show from the beginning though, you can find all the seasons on Amazon Prime. The show will also be available on the new Peacock streaming services, and if that isn’t enough a new Psych movie will also be available, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home.
Psych is one of my favorite shows with infinite rewatch potential. Here are just a few of the reasons that I think you should check it out.
It’s hilarious
Psych never fails to make me laugh. This show commits to the silly and if you’ve been reading about any of the shows that I think are Gone Too Soon you’ll know that silly is my favorite genre of television. (Seriously, I like a lot of genres, but I prefer a little nonsense.)
The best examples of this are “American Duos,” “Last Night Gus” (my personal favorite and one of Dulé Hill’s as well) and “Tuesday the 17th.”.They are also a few of the funniest episodes in my opinion.
The ongoing bits never get stale. There are several running jokes in this series, from the catchphrases. One of my favorites is spotting the pineapple. There is a pineapple in every single episode. Can you find it?
The cast has amazing chemistry
In one of the videos that played during the marathon Roday said that he thought they would be filming the pilot of the show and nothing else, and Hill added that the addition of Lawson to the cast really rounded things out.
This show wouldn’t be as great without the perfect cast. Shawn and Gus are best friend goals. Juliet and Lassie are great partners. Henry and Spencer may have started off with a rocky relationship, but they really grew through the series.
The other important part of this show is commitment. The show can be very silly and all the actors tackle the task with aplomb. Between Shawns’ “psychic” episodes, Gus following along with the silliness, or anything in between the cast is all in.
It has one of the most satisfying slow burn ships
I’ll be the first to admit that I am a harcore shipper. I very rarely watch shows that don’t have something to ship. One of my all time favorite OTPs is on this show. Shawn and Juliet aka Shules. are a great couple.
They have chemistry from the get go and some of my favorite shipping moments. When they finally get together there aren’t any contrived plot devices that hinder their relationship. The one big fight that they do have is completely warranted, and they work through it. I could honestly write an entire list on their best moments, just know that there are a lot.
It’s one of my biggest pet peeves that when couples get together then are constantly fighting and have stupid roadblocks in their relationships. There isn’t any of this with Shules. Once they are together, they’re together. Well except for one major conflict, but they get a happily-ever-after.
The themed episodes
How many shows do you watch that have full-fledged theme episodes. My personal favorites are “100 Clues” (a Clue remake that also functions as the 100th episode) and Dual Spires (a fantastic Twin Peaks homage). They are not only spot on send-ups, but they also feature many cast members from the original. Whether or not you are actually into Psych, if you like one of the properties that they are referencing you should check those episodes out.
Have you ever watched a TV show legitimately remake one of its own episodes? Psych did. In its first season it aired “Cloudy… With a Chance of Murder” and then they remake it in the final season, “Remake A.K.A Cloudy… With a Chance of Improvement”.
Another great example is the vampire episode “This Episode Sucks,” not only are the references to every vampire show and movie known to man, but the guest stars really drive the point home. Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the movie), Tom Lenk (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the tv show), and Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys) all appear in this episode.
When they do theme episodes they really commit. If they are doing a theme episode then they also change the theme song to match. Boys II Men and the version from the Bollywood episode are two of my favorites.
The show is never really over
If all of this sounds like something you would be into then, do I have great news for you! It isn’t really over. No really, the cast and writers love this show and have plans to make more movies. I’ve already told you about the newest movie coming very soon, but there are plans to make more. How great would it be if beloved tv shows that have ended would come back every so often with a movie! When it comes to Psych you never have to wonder. Steve Franks and the cast are on board to make even more movies if given the opportunity. The first Psych movie, Psych: The Movie, came out in 2017 a full three years after the show ended. They could continue making Psych movies for years to come.
Running gags, a killer OTP, great chemistry, and themed episodes. What more could you want from a show? Are you planning on checking out Psych? Did you watch it when it first ran or have you binged it since? Let me know what you think!
