Monk

Monk is a police procedural series that can be classified as both a comedy and a drama. Created by Andy Breckman, the series ran from 2002 to 2009 on USA Network and starred Tony Shalhoub as protagonist Adrian Monk.

Adrian Monk is a talented detective who worked for the San Francisco Police Department until Trudy, his wife, was killed by a car bomb. Monk, devastated, suffered a nervous breakdown following the tragedy, and was discharged from the force, spending the next three and a half years as a recluse in his own home. However, with the help of his nurse Sharona (Bitty Schram), Monk is able to rehabilitate himself enough to rejoin the workforce as a private detective and consultant for the homicide unit in San Francisco.

Monk is a very peculiar man, and he suffers from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). This condition often causes problems for Monk during his investigations, but also aids him due to sharp memory and attention to detail, as well as his desire to fix the disorder and crime that exists in the world.

Although the series is primarily episodic, it does have serial elements to it as Monk attempts to solve the mystery of his wife’s death throughout the course of the series. Apart from following the individual cases that Monk pursues, the series also delves into his personal life and how he overcomes the various obstacles in his path following his wife’s death.

The series was received positively by both viewers and critics. Monk was nominated for and received several major television awards throughout its run. Specifically, Tony Shalhoub was praised extensively for his portrayal of character Adrian Monk. Shalhoub won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Additionally, Shalhoub won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in A Television Series in 2003, as well as Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005 from the Screen Actors Guild.

Merchandise:
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3