"Psych: The Movie" Set for Dec. 7th on USA

[JamesG]

USA Network Orders "Psych" Holiday Reunion Movie — First Look
by Michael Ausiello
May 8, 2017


A round of Pineapple Razzmatazzies on the house! USA Network is reviving its late, great private eye dramedy "Psych" via a two-hour holiday movie — and all the usual suspects will be back.

Psych: The Movie — which is slated to air in December — will find James Roday‘s Shawn and Dulé Hill‘s Gus re-teaming three years after the show’s 2014 series finale.

Franchise vets Timothy Omundson (Lassiter), Maggie Lawson (Juliet), Corbin Bernsen (Henry) and Kirsten Nelson (Chief Vick) will also be appearing and additional casting will be announced in the coming months.





Here’s the official logline: “The ambitious friends — along with some returning fan-favorite characters — come together during the holidays after a mystery assailant targets one of their own. A comedic thrill ride follows, as the wild and unpredictable Psych team pursues the bad guys, justice …and food!”

Roday co-wrote the the revival with "Psych" creator Steve Franks.





“Psych is a beloved part of our USA family, and what better time to reunite with family than the holidays.” said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, in a statement.

“Steve and James have taken the unique brand of comedy that the series honed over eight seasons and packed it in to a two-hour movie that successfully rekindles one of the greatest bro-mances in television history.”

http://tvline.com/2017/05/08/psych-t...union-holiday/

[JamesG]

"Chuck's" Zachary Levi Joins New "Psych" Movie as the Big Bad
by Michael Ausiello
June 14, 2017


"Chuck" star Zachary Levi has boarded USA Network’s two-hour "Psych" revival as the main villain.

In the holiday-themed Psych: The Movie (premiering in December), Levi vet will play “Thin White Duke,” a ruthless, mysterious and dashing evildoer of the highest order.

http://tvline.com/2017/06/14/psych-m...-revival-cast/

[robyrob]

looking forward to this

[JamesG]

"Psych" Revival Enlists New Love Interest for Gus — and There's a (Fun!) Twist
by Michael Ausiello
June 22, 2017


USA Network’s forthcoming "Psych" revival is turning into quite the family affair.

TVLine has learned exclusively that "Ballers" actress Jazmyn Simon — aka the real-life fiancée of "Psych" leading man Dulé Hill — is joining the two-hour reunion movie as a romantic interest for Hill’s lovelorn Gus.

http://tvline.com/2017/06/22/psych-t...dule-hill-gus/

[JamesG]

Ralph Macchio to Reprise "Psych" Role on "Psych: The Movie"
by Chancellor Agard
June 28, 2017


The Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio has announced that he will return as Nick Conforth, the police academy officer who trained Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dulé Hill) in Season 5.

Conforth will play an important role in Shawn and Gus’ investigation into the Thin White Duke (Zachary Levi), a mysterious villain who targets one of their friends.



“He’s actually a big catalyst to get our investigation going. He holds one of the key pieces of information,” creator Steve Franks, who directed the movie, tells EW. “He actually functioned perfectly within the framework of the story and that was kind of the key to bringing his character back.”

“I should be slightly easier to locate than the pineapple,” Macchio says in the announcement video.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/06/28/psych-th...ralph-macchio/

[JamesG]

Exclusive: Psych: The Movie Adds a WWE Superstar as Zachary Levi's Evil Sidekick
by Sadie Gennis
July 5, 2017


Psych: The Movie just added another heel to its ranks. WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair has joined the cast, TVGuide.com can exclusively reveal.

Flair will appear as Heather Rockrear, the badass sidekick of Zachary Levi's villainous character Thin White Duke.



The daughter of wrestling icon Ric Flair, Charlotte Flair is a 4-time WWE Women's Champion and was featured in the first women's match to headline a WWE pay-per-view.

The role in Psych: The Movie marks Flair's official acting debut, but playing a villain will be old hat to the Superstar, who used to be a major heel in the WWE before turning face.



Flair is the latest of many professional wrestlers who have appeared on "Psych".

John Cena, The Miz, the Bella Twins, Big Show, Stacy Keibler and Mickie James all made appearances during the USA show's eight-season run.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/psych-th...ther-rockrear/

[JamesG]

First Look at Team Psych's Harrowing Reunion in Psych: The Movie
by Chancellor Agard
July 16, 2017


Three years after signing off to the strains of Oingo Boingo’s “We Close Our Eyes,” fake sleuths Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and Burton “Gus” Guster (Dulé Hill) are returning in a holiday movie that will surpass anything in the original series, if creator Steve Franks gets his wish.

As the boys face a deadly foe — the Thin White Duke (Zachary Levi), who, according to Hill, is “looking to seek, kill, and destroy Team Psych” — they’ll be reunited with the rest of the gang in their most harrowing moment yet, pictured below in this exclusive first look. This is the first time we see the entire group together in the film.



“It leads to a very intense, very emotional, and possibly most ridiculous thing we’ve ever done,” says Franks.

“When everybody else is off battling bad guys and fighting the scariest foes they’ve ever fought, Shawn and Gus find a way to stumble into something that’s incredibly silly yet appropriate and sort of takes some of the tension out of the air by making the whole thing really fun.”







1. Kurt Fuller Returns

Ralph Macchio isn’t the only familiar face who will pop up in the movie. As seen in the photo, Kurt Fuller is set to reprise his role as Woody the Coroner.

According to Franks, it was never a question that Fuller would be part of this momentous event. “Of course Kurt had to be in the movie,” says Franks. “Every day, Kurt’s part got bigger and bigger and bigger. He was so great. We can’t help ourselves. We just keep adding and adding to his part whenever we start writing.”







2. Timothy Omundson will Appear in Some Way

You’ve no doubt noticed that one important face is missing from that group shot: Timothy Omundson, who plays Detective Lassiter. Omundson is absent from the from the reunion because he suffered a stroke shortly before production began on the movie, which meant Franks and Roday, who co-wrote the script, had to rework the story.

“Omundson’s stroke kind of forced us to rethink a lot. First and foremost, whether or not we should be making this movie — if it even made sense and if the timing was right or not. Then beyond that creatively, how do we make that work?” says Roday, who characterizes Omundson’s recovery as “remarkable.”



After talking with Omundson and his family, they decided to forge ahead and actually found a way for their friend to be part of the experience in some capacity.

“There is most definitely a way that he appears in the movie,” says Franks. “I can’t say for 100 percent sure that he will, but I can say like 99.99 percent that we did everything we can to get Tim in the movie.”



Roday adds: “I think we found the best way possible to keep Lassiter very much a part of what we do, set him up to succeed in the future, and still give all of our Psych-Os an opportunity to see that ridiculously handsome mug of his.”







3. San Francisco is the Main Setting

Psych-Os may be slightly disappointed if they were hoping to revisit some of the old Santa Barbara haunts. In the process of reworking the script, the story ended up moving to San Francisco, which is where Shawn, Gus, Jules, and Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) moved in the series finale.

“It was actually nice moving it completely out of Santa Barbara because it felt new, it felt event-worthy, and it felt like were off to a new place,” says Franks, who also teases that Shawn and Gus will still be driving that two steering-wheeled drivers’ ed car they got in the series finale.







4. Gus is Still Searching for Love 3 Years Later

One of the running jokes on "Psych" was how desperate Gus was to find a romantic partner, and that quest continues in earnest in the film. When we pick up three years later, Gus thinks he may have finally found the one in a woman named Selene (Jazmyn Simon, Hill’s real-life fianceé); however, there’s a good chance he may be wrong. Hill says Gus is in for a surprise when he tries out his usual pick-up lines on Selene.

“Gus gets Gus’d,” says Hill. “It’s like when the semblance of a mirror is held up to you, and how things you think should work great, you don’t really like having done to yourself. I think we’ll kind of see that experience happen with Gus a little bit.”



Hill loved having Simon on set, and his costar even thinks it may have helped get into character quicker.

“Dulé hit the ground sprinting,” says Roday. “I think part of that was the very first thing we shot was with Jazmyn Simon. I think there was a little bit of a ‘Hey baby, this is how we do it,’ that was sort of motivating him to be at the top of his game right away.”







5. Henry Spencer Undergoes a Major Sartorial Transformation

The other curious detail Psych-Os may have noticed in the first-look photo is that Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen) is sporting a trendy fedora. That questionable accessory is actually a major hint as to what has gone on in Henry’s life since the show ended.

At the end of the series, Henry sold his house to Lassiter, and in the intervening years, he moves to a loft space by the docks. Soon, the area gentrifies, and Henry decides to evolve along with it instead of fighting it like a curmudgeonly old man.



“He’s become the hip old guy in the neighborhood,” says Franks.

“The first time we see Henry, he’s in full hipster regalia. It’s a really fun element. It was a great way to give that character a fun new thing that he’s doing that feels lively and is fun for Bernsen to play.”

http://ew.com/tv/2017/07/16/psych-th...ook-exclusive/

[robyrob]

San Francisco? maybe they run in to another retired detective there...

[Torgo]

Omundson will be missed in the movie. He was a great foil for Shaun.

[JamesG]

Timothy Omundson Will Appear in Psych: The Movie for "One of the Best Scenes"
by Sadie Gennis
July 21, 2017


Timothy Omundson will only appear in one scene of Psych: The Movie, but the writers have found other ways to make sure Carlton Lassiter's presence is felt throughout the anticipated reunion film.

"Lassiter is a part of the movie. We wish he was a bigger part of the movie. Circumstantially, that did not get to happen," executive producer Chris Henze told TV Guide at San Diego Comic-Con.

"The way that we're looking at it as he's there -- he's thought about, he's talked about, he appears in the movie. There's a bigger spot on the table for him for the next one, and we're excited for that."





Shortly before Psych: The Movie started production, Omundson suffered a stroke. After briefly wondering whether they should still proceed with the movie at all, they decided to forge forward with Omundson appearing in a much smaller capacity than originally planned.

"He's a remarkable man with a remarkable beard," star and producer James Roday said. "He will appear in the movie and it's easily one of the best scenes in the movie. I think fans will love it."





"Tim is a warrior," added creator Steve Franks.

"I was texting with him yesterday and I am just so impressed with him and so excited that we get to include him in the movie. He gives us the perfect excuse to make a second movie and have Tim in the entire thing. We get to have him in such a nice, sweet way. It's really great. I'm happy that he's part of it. It wouldn't have been the same without him. We're excited for the future and to have him back full time."





Psych: The Movie will reunite original stars Roday, Dulé Hill, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson and Corbin Bernsen for a brand new adventure that will kick-off in San Francisco, where Shawn and Gus set up shop in the series finale.

It will also see the returns of Cary Elwes, Jimmi Simpson, Ralph Macchio and Kurt Fuller, in addition to the introduction of Zachary Levi as a new villain and Hill's real-life fiancee Jazmyn Simon as a love interest for Gus.

Earlier this week, Franks announced his hopes to turn "Psych" into a film franchise, with plans for an additional five movies after this one.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/psych-th...lton-lassiter/

[JamesG]

Psych: The Movie: We Have an Airdate!
by Michael Ausiello
Oct. 7, 2017


A premiere date for USA Network’s Psych: The Movie was announced Saturday at New York Comic-Con (via a panel moderated by yours truly), and the anticipated one-off revival will bow on Thursday, Dec, 7 at 8/7c.

The airdate news was revealed by MIA co-lead Dulé Hill (who had a scheduling conflict) via a special video message to fans.




Also at the NYCC event, star/EP James Roday — who was joined by cast mates Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson and Corbin Bernsen, as well as series creator Steve Franks and fellow EP Chris Henze — confirmed that John Cena will reprise his role as Juliet’s brother Ewan in the pic.

Additionally, as previously reported, Timothy Omundson — who is currently recovering from a stroke and therefore unable to attend the panel — will also make an appearance in the movie.

http://tvline.com/2017/10/07/psych-t...l-usa-network/

[TMC]

Psych: The Movie didn’t change a thing from the original USA series, making it perfect escapism
“The show’s tone, execution and goals have not changed, which is a good thing,” says Maureen Ryan. “If nothing else, one reason to keep the Psych gang wrapped up in familiar, light stories is because the world needs something fun. There’s more than enough darkness around these days, on TV screens and in life. If you’re coming to Psych for a challenging exploration of the grimiest corners of the human soul, well… don’t do that.” ALSO: Psych creator Steve Franks wanted to made sure the movie distracted from the real world.

Psych creator hopes USA lets him do five more Psych movies

Steve Franks says Psych: The Movie’s master plan was to end on a cliffhanger that would set the stage for five more Psych movies. “When we were ending the show and steering it towards a conclusion, I was sort of steering it towards the two-hour world," he tells TV Guide. "I steered it right towards doing one (movie), and I realized by saying something over and over maybe I could talk it into existence. So I thought if I can talk into existence one, maybe I can talk into existence six." ALSO: Timothy Omundson made a poignant cameo after suffering a stroke.