Tony Shalhoub Talks About Bitty Schram’s ‘Monk’ Return

[Skywalker]

Tony Shalhoub reports that his one-time “Monk” costar Bitty Schram is due to make her much-talked-about return to the USA Network series in early September, and “We’re all looking forward to that. We’re all excited to see what the writers have cooked up.”

Fans of the show were upset back in the midst of its third season when Schram was suddenly let go under the official line that the “Monk” creative team wanted to “go in a different direction.” Later reports revealed that she’d been among the supporting players in a renegotiation wrangle with the network, which chose to take a hard line against her. Her Sharona Fleming character was replaced by Traylor Howard’s Natalie Teeger.

“It will be great for the audience to have her back,” Tony feels. “We’ll see how that character has changed, what the dynamic might be between Sharona and Natalie. Something tells me they’ll be really good friends.” Both, of course, have had to deal with Shalhoub’s obsessive-compulsive detective character’s idiosyncrasies in an up-close and personal way.

Will it be awkward for the cast having Schram back? “Oh, no. I don’t think it will be awkward at all. I’ve spoken to Bitty through the years, especially around the time Stanley Kamel passed away,” Tony says, referring to their costar who died last year. “She was close to him, too. There’s no bad blood. Nothing but good.”



http://www.jaxobserver.com/2009/07/1...s-monk-return/

[Mr. Television]

I haven't watched Monk in a few years but I'm going to watch this episode. She has definitely been missed.

[Schmoopie]

I was kind of soured on Monk last year with the episode they aired right after Stanley Kammel died. Since then I haven't watched it at all, but I'm hoping that since this is the last season, the show will get a lot better than it was last year. I was really disappointed in the way they handled Dr. Kroger's death on the show.