Throughout most of this year, Netflix has added at least one high-profile show that ran for multiple seasons on another network or streamer. However, September doesn’t have any major preexisting shows heading to Netflix, so we’ll just have to take a look back at a series that arrived on the streamer earlier this year: Monk.
Monk originally ran on USA Network from 2002 to 2009, and it was one of the cable channel’s biggest hits. It played so well that reruns of Monk are currently syndicated to linear broadcast channels. Netflix probably picked it up hoping that Monk would have a similar resurgence to the one that another USA show, Suits, enjoyed in 2023. So far, that hasn’t been the case and Monk largely falls outside of the 10 most popular shows on Netflix. Regardless, this is a top-notch series, and we’re sharing the reasons why Monk is the one Netflix show that you have to stream in September. And since it has eight full seasons, it might take you the full month to get through it!
Tony Shalhoub’s performance is hilarious
If there was ever anyone born to play Adrian Monk, it’s Tony Shalhoub. There are parts of Monk’s backstory that make him a tragic character, and Shalhoub’s dramatic chops make him sympathetic. His wife, Trudy, was murdered before the series began, and it’s clear that Monk was never the same man after that. But the real joy of watching the show is seeing how Monk’s OCD and various phobias will manifest themselves in every episode.
Shalhoub played Monk for eight seasons, and it’s still almost impossible not to laugh when he has his freakouts. Monk’s brilliance as a detective is only matched by his lack of social graces and his inability to function like a normal human being. Shalhoub’s gift for comedy keeps Monk’s shtick from ever growing old.
The supporting characters are very endearing
Monk’s inability to deal with life outside of his apartment was the perfect excuse to give him an assistant, Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram), who could help him get by long enough to solve the case of the week. Schram was particularly great in the role, but she abruptly left the series in season 3 over a salary dispute. Luckily Traylor Howard was cast as Monk’s next assistant, Natalie Teeger, who was distinct enough from Sharona that she held down the fort for the rest of the series.
A lot of the show’s comedic interplay came from Shalhoub and either Schram or Howard. But we can’t overlook the solid performances of Monk’s former colleagues, Lieutenant Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) and Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine). They’re the straight men to Monk’s antics, but not without enough charm to pull off their own comedic moments. This cast worked really well together, and it’s not surprising that they carried the series for 125 episodes.
Monk blends masterfully blends comedy and mystery
It’s important to note that there are dramatic stakes on Monk, and people do get killed. It would be hard to have Monk investigate murders if there weren’t victims. But the show is never so serious that it can’t take the time to find humor in whatever Monk is doing.
That tonal balancing act couldn’t have been easy, but it’s responsible for Monk‘s breezy appeal that makes it so easy to jump into any episode and enjoy it as a standalone story.
The final story gives Monk the ending it deserves
Throughout the series, Monk occasionally finds leads that give him insight into who murdered his wife and why. Because the creative team behind the show knew the series was ending with season 8, it allowed them to craft a two-part episode that closed out Monk’s story by giving him the closure he needed while letting him solve the mystery that haunted him for years.
It was a very cathartic way to end the series, but it wasn’t the end of Monk himself. If you happen to have a Peacock subscription, you can see the cast get back together for the reunion movie, Mr. Monk’s Last Case. But you should definitely watch the show all the way through before skipping to that part.
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Watch Monk on Netflix.