Psych Information

Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It is produced by Franks and Tagline Television's Chris Henze & Kelly Kulchak. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts allow him to convince people that he solves cases with psychic abilities. The program also stars Dulé Hill as Shawn's best friend and reluctant partner Burton "Gus" Guster, as well as Corbin Bernsen as Shawn's captious father, Henry.

The series airs new episodes in the U.S. on Wednesdays at 10PM ET/PT, 9PM CST on USA Network. During the second season, an animated segment was added to the series titled "The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus". Psych debuted on Friday, July 7, 2006, immediately following the fifth season premiere of Monk, and continued to be paired with the series until Monk's conclusion on December 4, 2009. It was the highest-rated U.S. basic cable television premiere of 2006. The sixth season ended on April 11, 2012. It is currently USA Network's longest-running original series on air. On January 10, 2012, USA renewed the series for a seventh season, to include 16 episodes. On December 19, 2012, a renewal for season eight was announced. Psych began its seventh season on February 27, 2013.

Overview

Most episodes begin with a cold open in the form of a flashback to Shawn and Gus's childhood. The flashbacks usually involve Shawn and Gus being taught a lesson by a young Henry Spencer, who wishes that his son would follow in his footsteps and become a law enforcement officer. As a child, Shawn was taught by Henry to hone his powers of observation and deduction, often using games and challenges to test him. Each flashback also sets the theme for the episode.

Shawn originally becomes known as a psychic when, after calling in tips on dozens of crime covered on the news, which help the police to close the case, the police become suspicious of his knowledge. The police theorize that such knowledge could only come from the "inside" and they decide to arrest him as a suspect. To avoid being sent to jail, Shawn uses his observational skills to convince the police that he is psychic. The interim police chief warns Shawn that if his "powers" are fake, he will be prosecuted. With no choice but to keep up the act, and having proven himself an effective aid to the police in solving crimes, he establishes a psychic detective agency, Psych, and becomes a consultant to the police. Pretending to have psychic powers allows him to engage in strange and comic behavior as he turns real clues into hunches and otherworldly visitations. He enjoys teasing lifelong friend Gus, a pharmaceutical representative, about Gus's eclectic interests as they drive around in a Toyota Echo nicknamed "the blueberry" solving crimes.

Head detective Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), playfully named "Lassie" by Shawn and Gus, quietly respects Shawn's crime-solving skills but doubts his psychic abilities and is constantly exasperated by his antics. On the contrary, junior detective Juliet "Jules" O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) and Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) are far less antagonistic " with O'Hara expressing belief in Shawn's abilities, while Vick is mum on the subject " and usually willing to give Shawn the leeway he needs to solve cases. Henry and Shawn have a difficult relationship, but despite this, Henry reluctantly helps Shawn on various occasions.

Cast and characters

Main characters

• Shawn Spencer (James Roday) is a freelance consultant with the Santa Barbara Police Department, pretending to be a psychic. However, it is really his exceptional observational skills and eidetic memory that allow him to obtain his "visions". He refuses to take anything seriously, though has matured slowly throughout the seasons. He has had romantic tension with Juliet O'Hara since they met, which led them to start dating in the middle of season 5. In the middle of season 6 he tries to propose to her but finds out that neither of them are ready.
• Burton "Gus" Guster (Dulé Hill) is Shawn's best friend since childhood as well as business partner. He also is a pharmaceuticals salesman. Unlike Shawn, he takes his work very seriously, playing the "straight man" and usually tries to act professionally, yet in later episodes he ends up as invested in jokes and snacks like Shawn. He is famous for his many aliases (usually given to him by Shawn), including "Magic Head", "Lavender Gooms", "Ghee Buttersnaps", and "Control Alt Delete". He is known for being attracted to all types of women, who usually end up as the criminal. He is also known for his super sensitive nose, the "Super Sniffer" or "Super Smeller".
• Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) is the head detective for the Santa Barbara Police Department. He is skeptical of Shawn's psychic abilities, and is extremely annoyed by Shawn's comic antics. However, he once secretly confessed to Shawn while drunk that he respects him and because of this he occasionally comes to Psych for help with his more difficult cases.
• Juliet "Jules" O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) is a junior detective for the Santa Barbara Police Department, and is Lassiter's partner. She joined the SBPD after Lassiter's old partner got transferred after the pilot episode, and was originally a cop in Miami. Throughout the series she and Shawn share constant romantic tension, and the two start dating in season 5.
• Chief Karen Vick (Kirsten Nelson) is the SBPD Chief. She is tough but fair, usually reluctant to hire Shawn and Gus for cases, but almost always gives in. She respects Shawn's help and input but firmly keeps him in check (as much as she can) when he pushes the limits of the law or her patience.
• Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen) is Shawn's uptight and precise father and a former police sergeant. He trained Shawn on everything about being a detective, going so far as teaching him to remember the layout of a room with his eyes closed and beating a lie detector. He is usually visited by Shawn with questions about various cases, but is usually reluctant to help. He has been rehired to the SBPD to be in charge of the department's consultants, much to Shawn's chagrin. At the end of Season 6, Henry quit the SBPD and then was shot by a former police partner after finding out he was being paid to cover up cases for criminals in the season's cliffhanger ending.

Recurring characters

See List of Psych characters for more information

• Young Shawn (Seasons 1"5: Liam James; Seasons 5"present: Skyler Gisondo) is the younger version of Shawn Spencer. He is shown at the beginning of most episodes in flashbacks to the late 1980s and early 1990s, usually learning a life lesson from his father, which helps him later in the episode. He has also been portrayed by Josh Hayden (in the pilot episode) and by Kyle Pejpar (in the episode "Spellingg Bee").
• Young Gus (Carlos McCullers II) is the younger version of Burton "Gus" Guster. He is shown at the beginning of various episodes in flashbacks with Shawn. He was also portrayed by Isaah Brown during the first season.
• Buzz McNab (Sage Brocklebank) is a naive but lovable cop who often provides Shawn and Gus with clues. He takes every case given him by Lassiter and Juliet with a polite, optimistic attitude, despite both Lassiter and Jules finding said case to be menial. Shawn gives him a "little boy cat" (that is actually a girl cat) that once helped him solve a case in season one. In "Shawn Gets the Yips" (4.05), McNab is severely injured when a bomb went off in his mailbox while he was getting his mail. Later in the episode, he returns to work with a severe concussion and on crutches, but alive; he remarks to Shawn and Gus that he had lost part of three toes, though, and when Shawn coughs from dehydration (he thought that his elliptical trainer was rigged with a bomb and a motivational note written by Jules said if his heart rate got below 150 beats/min he would die), he immediately begins to go get Shawn a drink of water before being told numerous times that he should rest. He has occasionally pulled Shawn over for various traffic violations only to realize that it is him and apologize. In the fourth season finale episode, "Mr. Yin Presents..." (4.16), McNab is attacked and knocked unconscious by the unseen killer, otherwise known as Yin, but survives. He returns in season 5.
• Madeleine Spencer (Cybill Shepherd) is a police psychologist who is Shawn's mother and Henry's ex-wife. In the episode "Ghosts" (3.01), she tells Lassiter that she has eidetic tonal memory, which is like Shawn's photographic memory but with sound. She appears in "Ghosts" (3.01), "Murder? ... Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller?" (3.02), "An Evening with Mr. Yang" (3.16), and "Yang 3 in 2D" (5.16). She was portrayed over-the-shoulder by a different actress in "Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead" (2.16).
• Abigail Lytar (Rachael Leigh Cook) is Shawn's high school crush, whom he let get away when he moved from, then back to, Santa Barbara and his parents got divorced. She first appears in "Murder? ... Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller?" (3.02) and returns in "An Evening with Mr. Yang" (3.16), "He Dead" (4.02), "Bollywood Homicide" (4.06), and "You Can't Handle This Episode" (4.10). In "You Can't Handle This Episode", the winter half premiere of Season 4, Abigail departs for Uganda. However, she returns in the episode "Mr. Yin Presents..." (4.16). After being kidnapped by Yin and saved by Shawn, she tells him she does not like danger and breaks up with him after the two share a final kiss.
• Winnie Guster (Phylicia Rashad) is Gus' mother. She appears in the first two of the series' Christmas episodes, "Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" (2.10) and "Christmas Joy" (3.09).
• Bill Guster (Ernie Hudson, Keith David) is Gus' father. Although the character of Gus' father appeared in the first two Christmas episodes, Bill Guster was played by Ernie Hudson in "Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" and by Keith David in "Christmas Joy".
• Mr. Yang (Ally Sheedy) is a serial killer, first appearing in "An Evening with Mr. Yang" (3.16). She returns after a decade-long absence to target Shawn in her deadly game of cat-and-mouse. In the season four finale, "Mr. Yin Presents..." (4.16), Shawn and Gus visit her in prison. She seems to have a deeper connection to Shawn, as the last scene of "Mr. Yin Presents..." shows Yin, Yang's partner, looking at a picture of what is presumably a younger Yang, standing next to young Shawn. Her help is enlisted again by Shawn and Gus in "Yang 3 in 2D", the fifth season's finale, in which it is revealed that she is actually Yin's daughter.
• Mary Lightly (Jimmi Simpson) was a department psychologist who was an expert on Mr. Yang. He first appeared in "An Evening with Mr. Yang" (3.16) and later in "Mr. Yin Presents..." (4.16). He was stabbed to death in the season four finale by Yin while bravely trying to capture him alone. He appears on videotape in "Yang 3 in 2D" (5.16) as well.
• Woody the Coroner (Kurt Fuller) is a police coroner that Shawn shares a mutual respect with. His wife cheats on him with multiple men, some of whom he has approved. He is also apparently wanted in the Philippines. He first appeared in "High Top Fade Out" (4.07).
• Mr. Yin (Christopher Turner, Peter Weller) was a serial killer who was actually responsible for the Yang murders. He is also Yang's father. He first appeared in "Mr. Yin Presents..." (4.16) targeting Shawn, and later returned for a second round in "Yang 3 in 2D" (5.16), in which he is murdered by his daughter.
• Pierre Despereaux (Cary Elwes) is an extremely elusive Canadian art thief. He first appeared in "Extradition: British Columbia" (4.01). When Shawn and Gus travel to Canada on a ski trip they end up catching him. However, it is revealed that he, in fact, is simply an insurance fraudster. Despereaux returned in "Extradition II: The Actual Extradition Part" (5.10), in which he was accused of multiple murders after his escape from prison. He was later cleared of the murder charges and finally extradited to the United States. He makes a return in the episode "Indiana Shawn and the Temple of the Kinda Crappy, Rusty Old Dagger" (6.10), in which he races with Shawn and Gus against a gang of art thieves to find an old dagger.
• Declan Rand (Nestor Carbonell) is a rich criminal profiler so good at his job that he poses a threat to Shawn. He turns out to be a fake criminal profiler and knows that Shawn is not a real psychic. His first appearance was in "Shawn 2.0" (5.08), and his most recent appearance was in "One, Maybe Two, Ways Out" (5.09). In "Extradition II: The Actual Extradition Part" (5.10), Juliet announces that she and Declan broke up.
• Marlowe Viccellio (Kristy Swanson) is a woman Lassiter meets and becomes romantically involved with. It is later discovered that she has been stealing blood in order to help her dying brother, and she is sent to prison. Despite this, her relationship with Lassiter continues. She first appears in "This Episode Sucks" (6.03) and later in "Let's Doo-Wop It Again" (6.13).
• Frank O'Hara (William Shatner) is Juliet's estranged father, and also a talented con man who uses his talents to fool the Santa Barbara Police Department. Shawn figured out his schemes, but told him he wouldn't give him up if he mended his relationship with Juliet. Juliet figures it out but he tries to right his wrongs by solving the crime. Juliet is slowly starting to have a better relationship with him. He first appears in "In for a Penny", and again in "Heeeeere's Lassie".
• Ken (Jerry Shea) is an Asian American who works for Shawn and Gus, is fired, and is seen working at various places they visit. He is seen in "Romeo and Juliet and Juliet" and "In Plain Fright", as well as "HashTag Killer", an online-only episode.

Episodes

Season	Timeslot (ET)	# Ep.	Premiered		Ended		TV Season	Viewers (in millions)
			Date	Premiere Viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale Viewers (in millions)
1	Friday 10:00 pm (July 7, 2006 " February 20, 2009)	15	July 7, 2006	TBA	March 2, 2007	TBA	2006"2007	TBA
2		16	July 13, 2007	TBA	February 15, 2008	TBA	2007"2008	TBA
3		16	July 18, 2008	TBA	February 20, 2009	TBA	2008"2009	TBA
4	Friday 10:00 pm (August 7, 2009 " October 16, 2009) Wednesday 10:00 pm (January 27, 2010 " March 10, 2010)	16	August 7, 2009	TBA	March 10, 2010	2.95	2009"2010	TBA
5	Wednesday 10:00 pm (July 14, 2010 " present)	16	July 14, 2010	3.68	December 22, 2010	2.90	2010	4.57
6		16	October 12, 2011	3.00	April 11, 2012	2.71	2011"2012	TBA
7		16	February 27, 2013	2.94	TBA	N/A	2013	TBA
8		8	TBA	N/A	TBA	N/A	TBA	TBA

Production

The show uses White Rock, British Columbia, Canada for its Santa Barbara, California setting. Psych also incorporates Vancouver and various locations around the Lower Mainland of British Columbia as a backdrop. Santa Barbara is on a mountainous coastline without bays and just has the few Channel Islands miles offshore. Many of the overlooking helicopter shots and set up shots (in which the exterior of the Santa Barbara Courthouse is shown) are actually filmed in Santa Barbara. The animated segments "The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus" were created by J.J. Sedelmaier Productions, Inc. The music, effects and sound design for "The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus" were created by Fred Weinberg.

Theme song

The theme song for Psych is "I Know You Know" by The Friendly Indians, series creator Steve Franks' band. Some episodes in Seasons 3, 4, 5, and 6 use the extended full-length version of "I Know You Know", but most episodes use the usual, shortened version. In some episodes the theme song is changed, usually as a tie-in to the theme of the episode to come.

Variations

• The theme was given a Christmas theme for the episode "Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" (2.10). It was used again in "Christmas Joy" (3.09) and "The Polarizing Express" (5.14).
• The song was sung in Spanish for "Lights, Camera... Homicidio" (2.13).
• It was expanded into Bollywood-themed version sung in Hindi in "Bollywood Homicide" (4.06).
• Boyz II Men performed an a cappella version of the theme for "High Top Fade Out" (4.07). It was used again for the episode "Let's Doo-Wop It Again" (6.13).
• In the season 5 premiere, "Romeo and Juliet and Juliet" (5.01), the main titles are translated in Chinese. However, the actual theme song itself is not edited.
• Curt Smith of Tears for Fears guest starred in "Shawn 2.0" (5.08) and recorded his own version of the theme. Smith also recorded a song ("This is Christmas") for the episode "The Polarizing Express" (5.14).
• Julee Cruise, who recorded the theme for Twin Peaks, recorded a slower, extended version of the theme for the Twin Peaks-inspired episode "Dual Spires" (5.12).
• A superhero-themed version was recorded for "The Amazing Psych-Man & Tap Man, Issue #2" (6.04). The main titles were also re-done in a comic book style.
• For the episode "Heeeeere's Lassie" (6.11), the song and main titles were given a theme similar to The Shining.

The Christmas and Hindi-themed variations of the song also include variations on the main titles. In particular, the Hindi and Chinese-themed episodes phonetically translated words into Devanagari and Chinese characters, respectively, in their title sequences. The theme in the Twin Peaks tribute is an almost shot-for-shot recreation of the Twin Peaks theme.

Pineapple

Since the series first aired, a pineapple has been a recurring theme, with one visible or with an implied presence in every episode. The pineapple is a major marketing point for items related to the show on the USA website. There is also a website that is dedicated to finding a pineapple or pineapple related object in each episode.

Response

Critical reaction and ratings

Psych scored a 4.51 rating and an average of 6.1 million total viewers at its premiere, which made it the highest rated scripted series premiere on basic cable in 2006 in all key demographics (households, P18-49, P25-54, and total viewers), according to a USA Network press release, quoted from the Futon Critic.

From the San Jose Mercury News:

James Roday (Miss Match) is utterly charming and delightfully funny as Shawn Spencer (who may not be Psychic but who does have wonderful powers of observation), and he gets fine support from Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) as his cop father and Dulé Hill (The West Wing) as his Dr. Watson-esque sidekick.

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Psych is one of those happy collisions of an intelligent script and an appealing cast. Roday's a charmer, nice looking but more charismatic than pretty, and ably paired with West Wing alumnus Dulé Hill, who plays Shawn's ultra-responsible childhood friend Gus.

Nominations and awards

• Psych was the winner of the Independent Investigations Group Annual Award for "Excellence in Entertainment" for advancing the cause of science and exposing superstition. Accepting for Psych was staff writer Daniel Hsia.
• James Roday was nominated for the 2006 Satellite Award for Best ActorTV Series Musical or Comedy.
• James Roday was nominated for the 2009 Ewwy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy.
• Psych was nominated for its first Emmy Award in 2010 in the category Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for the episode "Mr. Yin Presents...". Adam Cohen and John Robert Wood were the composers for this episode.
• Psych was nominated for its second Emmy Award in 2012 in the category "Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media" for their interactive game HashTag Killer'
• Psych was nominated for its first People's Choice Award in 2012 for "Best Cable TV Comedy"

DVD releases

Seasons one through six are available on DVD in Region 1, while seasons one, two, and three are available in Regions 2 and 4. Seasons one through six are available for online streaming on Netflix and Hulu, and for download in the iTunes Store. Season 5 is available for download through Amazon's Instant Video Store. Despite the entire series being recorded in HD resolutions and available in HD over streaming video services, no Blu-ray release of Psych exists.

Title	Ep #	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Season One	15	June 26, 2007	April 24, 2008	April 30, 2008
Season Two	16	July 11, 2008	June 7, 2010	March 3, 2010
Season Three	16	July 21, 2009	February 21, 2011	March 2, 2011
Season Four	16	July 13, 2010	July 18, 2011	August 22, 2012
Season Five	16	May 31, 2011	May 21, 2012	TBA
Season Six	16	October 16, 2012	TBA	TBA
Psych: The Psych-O-Ween Collection	4	September 11, 2012	TBA	TBA
Season Seven	16	TBA	TBA	TBA
Season Eight	8	TBA	TBA	TBA

International distribution

In , the series is broadcast on TV1 and One.

In . the series is broadcast on NRK3.

In . the series is broadcast on RT"? Two.

In , and the series is broadcast on Studio Universal channel.

In , the series is broadcast on RTL.

In Hong Kong. the series is broadcast on ATV World.

In . the series is broadcast on Comedy Central.

In , the series is broadcast on 13ème Rue and on NT1 channels.

In , the series is broadcast on Calle 13 and on FDF channels; it was formerly aired on Cuatro channel.

In , the series is broadcast on POP TV.

In , the series is broadcast on Kanal 5.

In , the series is broadcast on Prima Cool.

In , the series is broadcast on TV2 (Hungary) and on the Universal Channel.

In ,the series is broadcasted on the cable television Fox Crime.

In , the series is broadcast on cable STUDIO Universal channel.

In , the series is broadcasted on NOVA Tv.

In , the series is broadcasted on MTV3.

In , the series is broadcasted on Joy.

In , the series is broadcast on Universal Channel.

In South Africa, the series is broadcasted on Universal Channel.

In , the series is broadcasted on Yes Action.

In , the series is broadcasted on Novyi Kanal.

In , the series is broadcasted on Fox Crime.

In , the series is broadcasted on Fox Crime.

In , the series is broadcasted on MBC4.

In , the series is broadcasted on FX (Portugal).

In , the series will be broadcasted on Jack City, this coming 2013.

In , the series is broadcasted on Dizimax Vice.

In , the series is broadcasted on Fox Crime.

In , the series is broadcast on Universal Channel

In , the series is broadcast on Universal Channel

In , the series is broadcast on Universal Channel

In , the series is broadcast on Digi Plus

In , the series is broadcast on Universal Channel

Novels

William Rabkin has written and published five novels based on the series. The novels are written in third person narrative style.

Title	Author	ISBN	Publication date
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read	William Rabkin		January 6, 2009
Mind Over Magic			July 7, 2009
The Call of the Mild			January 5, 2010
A Fatal Frame of Mind			August 3, 2010
Mind-Altering Murder			February 1, 2011