The seventh season of ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'' was originally broadcast in the United States on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

from July 18, 2008, to February 20, 2009. It consisted of 16 episodes.

Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; ; born October 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for a variety of roles ranging from comedic to dramatic on stage and screen. He has received several accolades including five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, s ...

Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard (born June 14, 1966) is an American actress. From 2005 to 2009, Howard played Natalie Teeger in the USA Network television series ''Monk''. She has also starred on the sitcoms '' Boston Common'' (1996–1997) and '' Two ...

Ted Levine Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Jame Gumb (Buffalo Bill) in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009 ...

and

Jason Gray-Stanford Jason Gray-Stanford (born May 19, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Lieutenant Randy Disher in the USA Network television series ''Monk'' and for voicing the role of Raditz in the Ocean Productions dub of '' Dragon Ball Z ...

reprised their roles as the main characters. A DVD of the season was released on July 21, 2009.

Crew

Andy Breckman Andrew Ross Breckman (born March 3, 1955) is an American screenwriter, comedian, and radio personality. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series ''Monk'' on the USA Network and is co-host of WFMU radi ...

continued his tenure as

show runner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

. Executive producers for the season included Breckman,

David Hoberman David Elliot Hoberman (born September 19, 1952) is an American film and television producer, best known as the co-creator and executive producer of the USA Network television series ''Monk'', and the founder and co-owner of Mandeville Films. He ...

, series star

, writer

Tom Scharpling Thomas John Giuliano II (born February 9, 1969), known professionally as Tom Scharpling, is an American comedian, television writer, producer, music video director, voice actor, and radio host. He is best known for hosting the weekly Internet r ...

and Rob Thompson.

Universal Media Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It serves as the networ ...

was the primary production company backing the show.

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

's theme (" It's a Jungle Out There") continued to be used, while

Jeff Beal Jeff Beal (born June 20, 1963) is an American composer of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal creates music that often incorporates a synthesis of impr ...

's original instrumental theme could be heard in some episodes. Directors for the season included

Randall Zisk Randall "Randy" Zisk is an American television director, producer, and writer. Biography He graduated from the University of Southern California and is a native of Dallas, Texas, where he graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas. His family ...

, David Hoberman, Michael W. Watkins, David Breckman and Andrei Belgrader. Writers for the season included Andy Breckman, Hy Conrad, Daniel Dratch, Tom Gammill, Dylan Morgan, Max Pross, Salvatore Savo, Josh Siegal, Joe Toplyn,

and Peter Wolk.

Cast

All four main characters returned for the seventh season:

as former homicide detective

Adrian Monk Adrian Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub, is the title character and protagonist of the USA Network television series ''Monk (TV series), Monk''. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. He has obsessive� ...

as Monk's faithful assistant

Natalie Teeger The following is a list of characters from ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk. Monk's assistant Sharona Fleming, portrayed by Bitty Schram, was repl ...

as SFPD captain

Leland Stottlemeyer The following is a list of characters from ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk. Monk's assistant Sharona Fleming, portrayed by Bitty Schram, was repl ...

, and

Lieutenant Randy Disher The following is a list of characters from ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk. Monk's assistant Sharona Fleming, portrayed by Bitty Schram, was repl ...

Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series '' Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021 ...

joined the show as Dr. Neven Bell, Monk's new psychiatrist. Elizondo was cast after the death of the actor

Stanley Kamel Stanley Kamel (January 1, 1943 – April 8, 2008) was an American actor. From 2002 until his death in 2008, he played Dr. Charles Kroger on the American television series ''Monk''. Biography Kamel was born to a Jewish family and raised in Sou ...

Emmy Clarke ''Monk'' is an American police procedural comedy drama detective mystery television series that originally ran on the USA Network from July 12, 2002, to December 4, 2009, with 125 episodes broadcast over eight seasons. It follows Adrian Monk ...

returned as

Julie Teeger The following is a list of characters from ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk. Monk's assistant Sharona Fleming, portrayed by Bitty Schram, was repl ...

, Natalie's daughter, and

Tim Bagley Timothy Hugh Bagley (born August 17, 1957) is an American actor and comedian, who has appeared in numerous films and television programs. He had recurring roles on the TV series ''Will & Grace'', '' Hope & Gloria'', ''Strip Mall'', ''According t ...

reprised his role as

Harold Krenshaw The following is a list of characters from ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk. Monk's assistant Sharona Fleming, portrayed by Bitty Schram, was repl ...

, Monk's number-one rival.

Melora Hardin Melora Diane Hardin Jackson (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''The Office'' (2005–2013), Trudy Monk on USA Network's ''Monk'' (2004–2009), and Tammy Cashman o ...

continued to portray

Trudy Monk The following is a list of characters from ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk. Monk's assistant Sharona Fleming, portrayed by Bitty Schram, was repl ...

, Monk's deceased wife.

Casper Van Dien Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor, best known for his lead role as Johnny Rico in the science-fiction action film ''Starship Troopers'' (1997). Other credits include '' Sleepy Hollow'' (1999), '' Sanctimony ...

made his first appearance as Lt. Steven Albright, a new love interest for Natalie who was a comrade of Natalie's late husband, Mitch, in the Navy.

Jarrad Paul Jarrad Paul (born June 20, 1976) is an American screenwriter, director and actor. Early life and education Paul grew up in Miami, Florida. After graduating from high school, he moved to Los Angeles. Career Paul co-created and executive produce ...

made his final appearance as Monk's upstairs neighbor,

Kevin Dorfman The following is a list of characters from ''Monk'', an American comedy-drama detective television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk. Monk's assistant Sharona Fleming, portrayed by Bitty Schram, was replac ...

. The season saw the return of various villains and acquaintances from the past in the 100th episode.

Episodes

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

* Outstanding Actor – Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated) * Outstanding Guest Actress – Comedy Series (

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...

for playing "Marge Johnson" in "

Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door The seventh season of ''Monk'' was originally broadcast in the United States on USA Network from July 18, 2008, to February 20, 2009. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised thei ...

", nominated)

Golden Globe Awards

* Best Actor – Musical or Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)

Screen Actors Guild

* Outstanding Actor – Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)

References

{{Monk (TV series) Monk (TV series) 2008 American television seasons 2009 American television seasons Monk (TV series) seasons