The next Psychmovie still haunts me more as a missing promise than an upcoming event. Every few months bring a new tease: the script is done, “everything’s lined up,” the cast is eager, yet, Psych 4’s latest update proved disappointing. The movie still hasn’t been green lit and the ball is entirely in NBC and Peacock’s court. Sigh.
Why Psych 4 is taking so long remains a crime in itself, so I started theorizing what could be next, and perhaps to even pitch something bolder. What if, after all this time, Psych 4 uses this long buildup to deliver a real payoff—by bringing in Monk? Imagine that pantry-tease from the Psych finale finally resolving itself in a crossover we’ve been waiting years to see.
Psych 4 Should Be A Crossover With Monk
Shawn places his hand on Gus’s head while getting a fake psychic message on PsychUSA via MovieStillsDB
Yes, there are so many TV show franchises that failed to make a comeback, but the groundwork for a Psych–Monk crossover already exists in canon. The Psych series finale, “The Break-Up,” saw Shawn relocate to San Francisco to join Juliet, officially moving the show’s base of operations to Adrian Monk’s home turf. Then the first film, Psych: The Movie, solidified that setting, with Shawn and Gus running their new “Psychphrancisco” agency out west.
More importantly, Monk has already returned once. Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie, which scored a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score, proved there’s still an appetite for the character. A crossover would give both legacies a shared stage and a fresh hook, turning Psych 4 from another reunion sequel into an event movie.
Psych Has Yet To Pay Off Its Monk Tease From The Finale
I’ll never forget Psych’s subtle Monk reference in the series finale. Chief Vick casually mentions her new detective is “alphabetizing the pantry,” and for Monk fans, that was no coincidence. James Roday Rodriguez later confirmed it was an intentional nod and, ultimately, the result of a killer cameo that didn’t pan out.
The team had actually hoped Tony Shalhoub would appear in the finale, but scheduling conflicts forced the cheeky Easter egg instead. And nearly a decade later, we’ve been sitting on this unresolved tease. But now that Adrian Monk is back, Psych 4 has the perfect opportunity to actually balance awesome fan service with a story USA fans would eat up.
What A Psych And Monk Crossover Would Look Like
Shawn, Gus, Juliet, and Lassiter stand in a line talking on PsychUSA via MovieStillsDB
Picture it: Shawn and Gus running Psychphrancisco when a baffling string of thefts hits the city—crimes so orderly, so obsessively neat, that even Gus admits they’re too clean to be real. Enter Adrian Monk, hired as a private consultant on the same case. Shawn instantly tries to out-observe him, Gus tries to keep the peace, and Monk just wants to sanitize Shawn’s desk.
It actually reminds me a lot like the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor,” when Matt Smith’s Eleven bickered with David Tennant’s Ten until they teamed up to save Gallifrey. It ended up being one of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time.
As a long-time fan of one of the best sci-fi shows of all time, this meant more to me than a mere fan-service celebration. After seven years of stellar television, Steven Moffat had written a story that neatly wrapped a bow on the Time War arc introduced in 2005’s first episode. It was hugely satisfying.
Thematically, Psycho 4 could be a detective dream pairing just like Doctor Who was. Both characters weaponize observation—Monk to control the uncontrollable, Shawn to avoid facing it. Their dynamic would ultimately echo the heart of both shows: that brilliance often comes from pain, and humor can coexist with heartbreak.
So the setup writes itself: two perfectionists with opposite philosophies colliding in a city that fits them both. Monk’s structure and trauma meets Shawn’s improvisation and empathy, giving Psych 4 the rare chance to go somewhere bold instead of just revisiting old jokes.
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