Actor Tony Shalhoub visited with "Idaho Today" host Mellisa Paul to discuss revisiting his role as Adrian Monk in a new movie reboot, "Mr. Monk's Last Case," streaming exclusively on Peacock.
The "Monk" television series originally appeared on USA Network and finished on Dec. 4, 2009. Fans know his character, Adrian Monk, a soft-spoken detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and razor-sharp insight and observation, as nothing gets past Monk.
This film is a welcome return for Shalhoub, after fourteen years, has revived one of his best-known roles as the fastidious homicide detective after a standout run for his role as Abe Weissman in the Amazon Prime series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."
On "Idaho Today," Tony discussed his new film, "Mr. Monk's Last Case," which started streaming on Dec. 8 exclusively on Peacock. The cast reunited too, as former castmates for "Monk," Traylor Howard, Jason Gray Stanford, and Ted Levine, join him to solve another mystery that hits close to home, the strange murder of Monk's stepdaughter, Molly's fiance.
What is impressive is that Shalhoub, now 70, has seamlessly captured his character to the letter once again, with mannerisms and quirks that show Adrian Monk as a character truly got under Shalhoub's skin and never left.
Shalhoub portrays Monk's life as a widowed detective struggling with OCD, who is entirely in the throes of depression and is now in a race to figure out what happened to Molly's fiance.
The story of how "Monk" came to be was circuitous by Hollywood standards. It was first an ABC property, sold to USA Network, who perfected the concept with the casting of Shalhoub. Tony's subtle and restrained ways of showing this flawed detective's eccentricities endeared his character, Adrian Monk, as a character to audiences.
As "Monk" aired, Adrian's backstory was clear to viewers. He had an unhappy past, with family issues and bullies who tormented him over his quirks. Adrian Monk found happiness with his wife, Trudy (played in the new film by Melora Hardin as a ghostly apparition), and his job as a detective for the San Francisco Police Department. After Trudy's death, Monk suffered a nervous breakdown and had to leave the force. In "Monk," this anti-Sherlock Holmes detective was assisted by Sharona (Bitty Schram) and Police Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), who is now retired and working in the private sector in the new film.
There are standout classic moments in the new film that offer some comic relief and fun as the film's subject is quite serious. Monk faces retirement, an existential crisis, and many doubts about the importance of his life's work or why he hangs around anymore. There are no spoilers here, but this feel-good film works incredibly well this time of year.
Shalhoub has racked up three Primetime Emmy Awards for portraying Adrian Monk in "Monk." The movie revival is catching many awards action and was recently nominated for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television as Adrian Monk for the 2024 Critics Choice Awards.