The Blot can’t even start to explain how happy this news makes me! The USA Network has renewed two of my favorite TV shows, Psych and Burn Notice, for additional seasons of 16 episodes each. (link) This will be the fourth season of Psych and the third for Burn Notice. These are two of the most entertaining shows on television, and if you like great ensemble casts chock-full of quirky characters then you will definitely enjoy these hour-long series from USA.
Both shows are currently on mid-season hiatuses, but “are scheduled to kick off the second half of their current seasons in January (although Psych will air a special Christmas-themed hour on Nov. 28).” (link) The Blot thanks USA for renewing both Psych and Burn Notice, and I look forward to following the wacky exploits of Shawn, Gus, Michael, Sam and Fiona for many episodes to come.
While many would say USA’s current run of amazing original programming started with the debut of Monk or The Dead Zone, I would respectively disagree. It’s the debut of Psych that really solidified the channel’s quirky off-centered comedy and crime/adventure line-up, bridging the gap between the two genres perfectly. If you haven’t been watching Psych on USA, you should definitely set your DVR to record it before heading out on the town tonight. With new episodes of Psych, Burn Notice and In Plain Sight airing all summer long on USA, the basic cable channel may just be solidifying itself as THE destination for original programming during the big four networks’ summer hiatus.
After the huge cliffhanger at the end of Psych’s Season 2 finale (when Shawn’s rarely mentioned mother finally returns home), comes word that the USA Network dramedy has officially cast the mysteriously absent mother of psychic detective Shawn Spencer. Cybill Shepherd (Moonlighting) is set to appear in a multi-episode arc as the television mother to James Roday’s Shawn starting with the show’s Season 3 premiere on July 18th on the USA Network. (link)
It is being reported that “her character, Madeline, is a private practice psychologist who, after spending a few years abroad, returns to Santa Barbara to pay her ex-hubby (Corbin Bernsen) and son a visit and ends up helping them with a case. She’s described as being a free spirit and the source of Shawn’s adventurous side.” (link) I’m pretty excited to see Ms. Shepherd join the cast of Psych, even if it is only for a few episodes, and how her free spirited character plays off of Bernsen’s by-the-books retired police officer, Henry Spencer.
Plus, it’s been hinted at throughout the series that Roday’s Shawn has some mommy issues, so it’ll be nice to see those issues finally explored this season. Psych is one of the best hour-long comedies on the air today, and an excellent example of the quality television the USA Network airs on a regular basis. If you’re not watching Psych already, make sure to set your DVR’s for the Season 3 premier of Psych on Friday, July 18th at 10/9C.
Shawn, Gus and the rest of the Psych crew return for the start of their third season tonight, Friday January 11th, on the USA Network at 10/9 Central. For the past two years Psych has really entertained The Blot with its unique brand of mystery and goofy comedy (and was ranked eighth on The Blot’s Top 10 Cable Television Shows of 2007). In fact, Psych might just be one of the funniest detective shows on television, if not ever. If you haven’t yet started to watch the great original programming of the USA Network you really need to try out some of their shows. They have quietly grown a stable of shows that continually outshines every other cable network and almost rivals the cable pay channels of HBO and Showtime.I originally started watching the show because I am a huge fan of Dule Hill from his days on the hit NBC show The West Wing, but quickly found myself returning to watch week after week because of the well rounded ensemble cast. The show stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer and Hill as Burton “Gus” Guster as a pair of childhood friends who, after Shawn convinces the Santa Barbra Police Department that he is psychic, start a psychic detective agency appropriately named Psych. The catch, and where most of the comedy comes from, is in the fact that Shawn has absolutely no psychic abilities and yet is now considered the Santa Barbra Police Department’s resident psychic. In reality he just has incredible observational skills from years of intense training as a child by his father, retired policeman Henry Spencer played by television star Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law, Major League).
What ensues each week is your typical detective show crime but without any of the typical solving of the case. As the ads for Psych put it, it’s “All the Law. None of the Order.” Each week a new crime occurs and Shawn and Gus have to somehow work their way onto the case by convincing Police Chief Karen Vick, played by Kirsten Nelson, that their rare skills are desperately needed. More often than not, they’re paired with Detectives Carlton “Lassi” Lassiter, played by Tim Omundson, and Juliet O’Hara, played by Maggie Lawson.
There is a real love/hate relationship between Lassi and Shawn, and Lassiter doesn’t hide the fact that he “would sooner arrest Shawn than follow any of his psychic visions.” (link) But, more often than not Shawn saves the day and catches the bad guys with his so-called “visions.” Psych is just fun television and isn’t serialized like most popular TV is these days, so you can catch episodes as you please without missing a beat. If you’re home tonight with nothing to do or have space on your DVR for one more show, set the TV to USA and catch up on some Psych.
09. Doctor Who – The Sci-Fi Channel / Torchwood – BBC America (tie)
