Monk: Tony Shalhoub delivers the first details on the upcoming return of the series

For French viewers, Tony Shalhoub is one of those actors with a familiar face, who have always been part of the audiovisual landscape. If the actor has distinguished himself in the cinema in supporting roles in films like No Pain No Gain my corn Men In Blackit was on television that his popularity exploded, especially with series Monk, and today with the Prime Video series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. From 2002 to 2009, the American actor plays an inspector who painfully overcomes the death of his wife and conducts his investigations in an unorthodox way, in particular because of his various OCDs, which make him an unforgettable character. He is always supported by Natalie, his faithful right arm. Last March, the American streaming platform Peacock announced the launch of a sequel to the series with members of the original cast. During an interview with Télé-Loisirs on the occasion of his presence at the Canneseries festival, Tony Shalhoub revealed a little more about this highly anticipated project.

Tony Shalhoub : “I’m glad other generations are learning about Monk“

Tele-Leisure: Monk was a huge phenomenon in France. What is your relationship with the French public and such popularity?

Tony Shalhoub: I love Monk. I am delighted. I had no idea how popular it was here. I thought I understood that it was very popular in France but also in Germany and even throughout Europe. I myself am a fan of the series. So it’s a good thing that we’re bringing Monk back again. We are going to bring him back for one and only time, after 14 years of absence. I’m glad other generations, younger people, are being introduced to it now. You know, we never imagined it would have such an impact. We had no idea Monk would be adopted internationally like he is.

Tony Shalhoub reveals what the return of Monk on the television

Why now ? Can you tell us a little more about the conditions of this return?

This will be a one-off 90 minute episode. And as to why we decided to come back, it’s because the writers thought that because of the pandemic, there was a great reason to bring this character back to life. There was no compelling reason to bring him back, because when we left him at the end of the eighth season, the last one, he had solved the mystery of his wife and he was fine. He was exhausted. He was dissipating. That’s how we left it. But the pandemic arrived, and we had a good excuse to get it back on track. With his pathology, the Covid crisis necessarily had a great impact on him, that’s what we’re going to find out.

Do you think you kept aspects of the character?

This will be a one-off 90 minute episode. And as to why we decided to come back, it’s because the writers thought that because of the pandemic, there was a great reason to bring this character back to life. There was no compelling reason to bring him back, because when we left him at the end of the eighth season, the last one, he had solved the mystery of his wife and he was fine. He was exhausted. He was dissipating. That’s how we left it. But the pandemic arrived, and we had a good excuse to get it back on track. With his pathology, the ovid crisis necessarily had a great impact on him, that’s what we’re going to find out.