Well, we kinda knew Monk couldn't go too long without an analyst, right? So, tragic as is the April 8 death of Stanley Kamel — aka the neurotic's Dr. Kroger — a USA Network spokesperson confirms to me exclusively that Hector Elizondo has been tapped to join Monk as Tony Shalhoub's new shrink. There's no word on how his character will be introduced, but he'll first turn up in the show's seventh season premiere on July 18.

On a related note, Elizondo's hiring would seem to signal that CBS' Cane is a goner.

http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=800038583&rw=true

I was worried about how the show was going to handle the tragic passing of Stanley Kammel (Dr. Kroger was my favorite character), but after hearing that they have hired Hector, I feel a little better about it now. I'm really looking foreword to the season premiere on Friday night!

Andrea