The eighth and final season of Monk

Monk (TV series)

Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...

originally aired in the United States on USA Network

USA Network

USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

 from August 7 to December 4, 2009. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub

Tony Shalhoub

Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...

, Traylor Howard

Traylor Howard

Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Sharon Carter on the television series Two Guys and a Girl and as Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series Monk.-Early life:...

, Ted Levine

Ted Levine

Frank Theodore "Ted" Levine is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs and Captain Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series Monk.-Early life and career:...

, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised their roles as the main characters. A DVD of the season was released on March 16, 2010.

Crew

Andy Breckman

Andy Breckman

Andy Breckman is a television and film writer and a radio personality. He is the co-creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series Monk on the USA Network, and is co-host of WFMU radio's long-running conceptual comedy program Seven Second Delay...

 continued his tenure as show runner

Show runner

Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...

. Executive producers for the season included Breckman, David Hoberman, series star Tony Shalhoub

Tony Shalhoub

Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...

, writer Tom Scharpling

Tom Scharpling

Tom Scharpling is an American radio host, comedian, television writer, producer and music video director. He is best known for hosting the weekly freeform radio call-in comedy program The Best Show on WFMU and for acting as a writer/executive producer for the TV show Monk.Scharpling is also noted...

, and Rob Thompson. Universal Media Studios was the primary production company backing the show. Randy Newman

Randy Newman

Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....

's theme (It's a Jungle out There

It's a Jungle out There

"It's a Jungle Out There" is a song written by Randy Newman, the theme song for the TV series Monk since its second season. In 2004, it won an Emmy Award for best theme song....

) was continued to be used, while Jeff Beal

Jeff Beal

Jeff Beal is an American composer of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal's music often incorporates a synthesis of improvisatory and composed elements.- Early life :Beal began trumpet studies in the...

's original instrumental theme could be heard in some episodes. Newman also wrote a song for the final episode

Mr. Monk and the End

"Mr. Monk and the End" is the two-part series finale of the USA Network original criminal mystery dramedy television series, Monk. It is the fifteenth and sixteenth episodes of the eighth and final season, and is the 124th and 125th episodes in the series overall...

 entitled When I'm Gone. The song was accompanied by a montage of past and present characters from the show, leading the series into the final end credits. Directors for the season included Randall Zisk

Randall Zisk

Randall "Randy" Zisk is an American television director and producer.As both a director and producer, he has worked most substantially on the television series Monk and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...

, Michael Zinberg

Michael Zinberg

Michael A. Zinberg is an American television director, producer and writer.He has directed episodes of several American television series such as Everybody Loves Raymond Monk, The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, L.A...

, David Breckman, and Andrei Belgrader. Dean Parisot

Dean Parisot

Aldo L. "Dean" Parisot is an American film and television director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action for The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, which starred comedian Steven Wright...

 returned to direct "Mr. Monk and the Badge". It was his only credit in the series, apart from the pilot episode

Mr. Monk and the Candidate

"Mr. Monk and the Candidate" is the 90-minute pilot episode of the TV series Monk on the USA Network.During the Monk Cast Favorites Marathon, the episode was listed as one of Traylor Howard's favorites...

. Writers for the season included Michael Angeli, Andy Breckman, David Breckman, Hy Conrad, Tom Gammill, Dylan Morgan, Max Pross, Salvatore Savo, Josh Siegal, Joe Toplyn, Tom Scharpling

Tom Scharpling

Tom Scharpling is an American radio host, comedian, television writer, producer and music video director. He is best known for hosting the weekly freeform radio call-in comedy program The Best Show on WFMU and for acting as a writer/executive producer for the TV show Monk.Scharpling is also noted...

, and Peter Wolk.

Cast

All four main characters returned for the final season. Tony Shalhoub

Tony Shalhoub

Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...

 returned as former homicide detective Adrian Monk

Adrian Monk

Adrian Monk is a fictional character portrayed by Tony Shalhoub and the protagonist of the USA Network television series Monk. He is a renowned former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department...

, with Traylor Howard

Traylor Howard

Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Sharon Carter on the television series Two Guys and a Girl and as Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series Monk.-Early life:...

 returning as Monk's faithful assistant, Natalie Teeger

Natalie Teeger

Natalie J. Teeger is a fictional character on the American crime drama Monk. She becomes Adrian Monk's personal assistant midway through the third season of the show...

. Ted Levine

Ted Levine

Frank Theodore "Ted" Levine is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs and Captain Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series Monk.-Early life and career:...

 returned as the SFPD captain, Leland Stottlemeyer

Leland Stottlemeyer

Captain Leland Francis Stottlemeyer is a fictional police officer played by Ted Levine on the American crime drama Monk. He is Captain of the San Francisco Police Department 's Homicide Detail, and a longtime friend of Adrian Monk from their days on the force together where he served as Monk's...

, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised his role as the lovable but oblivious Lieutenant Randy Disher.

Hector Elizondo

Hector Elizondo

Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...

 returned as Monk's new psychiatrist, Dr. Neven Bell. Emmy Clarke

Emmy Clarke

Mary Elizabeth Clarke , better known as Emmy Clarke, is an American actress.At the age of one Clarke moved with her parents to Houston, Texas. At age 6 she moved to Woking, England, where she attended TASIS England before moving to New York City at age 11. The nickname "Emmy" is derived from her...

 continued to portray Julie Teeger. Virginia Madsen

Virginia Madsen

Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...

 entered the series as Stottlemeyer's new girlfriend (and later wife), Trudy K. Jensen. Melora Hardin

Melora Hardin

Melora Diane Hardin is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's The Office and Trudy Monk on USA's Monk.-Early life:...

 reprised her role as Trudy Monk (Monk's deceased wife), and Casper Van Dien

Casper Van Dien

-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...

 returned as Lt. Steven Albright, Natalie's new love interest. Tim Bagley

Tim Bagley

Timothy Hugh "Tim" Bagley is an American character actor who has appeared in numerous films and television programs. He is perhaps best known for his recurring roles on the TV series Will & Grace, Monk and $h*! My Dad Says.-Early life:...

 returned to resolve Harold Krenshaw's (Monk's number-one rival) plotline. Craig T. Nelson

Craig T. Nelson

Craig Theodore Nelson is an American actor. He is probably best known for his Emmy-winning roles as Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach, and as Steve Freeling in the 1982 film Poltergeist. He also starred in The Incredibles in 2004 as Mr...

 entered as Judge Ethan Rickover in the penultimate episode. D. B. Woodside

D. B. Woodside

David Bryan "D.B." Woodside is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of White House Chief of Staff Wayne Palmer on the FOX action/drama series 24...

 entered in the same episode as Monk's physician, Dr. Matthew Shuler. Alona Tal

Alona Tal

-Career:Tal started her career fresh out of the Israel Defense Forces, with a children's musical video tape, in which she played an evil witch. Following that, she appeared in a commercial for a laundry detergent...

 made an appearance in the final episode as Trudy's daughter, Molly Evans. Bitty Schram

Bitty Schram

Elizabeth Natalie "Bitty" Schram is an American actress, most widely known for having played Sharona Fleming in the television series Monk.-Career:...

 made a special appearance as Sharona Fleming

Sharona Fleming

Sharona Fleming is a fictional character in the award-winning series Monk. Sharona is a divorced practical nurse from New Jersey and a single mother with a young son named Benjy. She was played by Bitty Schram. Schram was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.-Biography:Sharona's...

, Monk's former nurse (Schram was a former cast member, who left during the third season

Monk (season 3)

The third season of Monk originally aired in the United States on USA Network from June 18, 2004 to March 4, 2005. It consisted of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised their roles as the main characters, and Traylor Howard joined the cast. Bitty Schram left...

). Other guest stars for the eighth season included Brooke Adams, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...

, Sarah Aldrich

Sarah Aldrich

Sarah Aldrich is an American actress.-Biography:Aldrich was born in Los Angeles, Sarah spent her childhood in Northern California...

, Dylan Baker

Dylan Baker

Dylan Baker is an American actor, known for playing supporting roles in both major studio and independent films.-Early life:...

, Eric Balfour

Eric Balfour

Eric Salter Balfour is an American singer and actor of film and television. He is the lead singer of Born As Ghosts, formerly known as Fredalba...

, Ed Begley, Jr.

Ed Begley, Jr.

Edward James "Ed" Begley, Jr. is an American actor and environmentalist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He is best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, on the television series St...

, Jack Betts

Jack Betts

Jack Richard Nelson Betts , also credited as Hunt Powers, is an American actor of film, stage, and television. A graduate of the Actors Studio, he started his career as a leading man in spaghetti westerns, before taking a career in supporting roles in American films.-Filmography:-External links:...

, Kelly Carlson

Kelly Carlson

Kelly Lee Carlson is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Kimber Henry on Nip/Tuck. In 2001 she was listed on Tear Sheet Magazines 50 Most Beautiful list.-Career:...

, Ian Paul Cassidy

Ian Paul Cassidy

Ian Paul Cassidy is an English actor, who has appeared mainly in American and Australian productions. In 2000 he played Cracker Bob in Highlander: Endgame and in 2001 he had a starring role in the drama series The Beast, which was cancelled after five episodes...

, Shelly Cole

Shelly Cole

Shelly Cole is an American actress who has starred in the films Prey for Rock & Roll and Art School Confidential. She has also made numerous appearances on television shows, notably as the recurrent character Madeline Lynn on Gilmore Girls.- Filmography :-External links:...

, Vince Curatola

Vince Curatola

Vincent Curatola is an American actor and writer. Curatola's best-known role is that of the cold, calculating, chain smoking Johnny Sack from the HBO drama, The Sopranos...

, Reed Diamond

Reed Diamond

Reed Edward Diamond is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Det. Mike Kellerman on Homicide: Life on the Street and the role of recurring character Laurence Dominic on Dollhouse...

, Mary Beth Evans

Mary Beth Evans

Mary Beth Evans is an American actress. She was born in Pasadena, California.-Career:Evans is most famous for her role as Kayla Brady Johnson in the soap opera Days of our Lives from 1986 to 1992, 2006 to 2009, and 2010 to present. Her character became half of the supercouple Steve and Kayla...

, Michael Fairman

Michael Fairman

Michael Fairman is an American actor, and writer best known for his various roles during his long career, which started when he was 31 years old...

, Mark Harelik

Mark Harelik

Mark Harelik is an American television, film, and stage actor, as well as a playwright.-Career:Harelik has appeared in the films Election, Jurassic Park III and For Your Consideration; He was the voice of Rogers in The Swan Princess, and he has played parts on the television sitcoms Seinfeld,...

, Carol Kane

Carol Kane

Carolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...

, Bernie Kopell

Bernie Kopell

Bernard Morton "Bernie" Kopell is an American television character actor who is probably best known for his roles as Dr. Adam Bricker in The Love Boat and KAOS agent Siegfried in Get Smart...

, Wallace Langham

Wallace Langham

James Wallace Langham II is an American actor. He currently plays the role of David Hodges in the American crime drama television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.-Film career:...

, Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf

Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...

, Louis Lombardi

Louis Lombardi

Louis Lombardi is an American actor.Lombardi was born in The Bronx, New York City, the son of Louis Lombardi, Sr. On television, Lombardi had a recurring role on The Sopranos as Agent Skip Lipari, and guest starred on such shows as Entourage, Heroes and CSI. He was a cast member of a 1990s...

, John Carroll Lynch

John Carroll Lynch

John Carroll Lynch is an American actor, known for his role as Drew Carey's cross-dressing brother on The Drew Carey Show, and for his role as Norm, the unassuming husband of Margie Gunderson in Fargo....

, Jay Malone

Jay Malone

Jay Malone is a Canadian comedian from Kentville, Nova Scotia.Malone began doing standup comedy in 1999 while studying at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. In the summer of 2000, just three credits shy of a degree, he moved to Toronto to pursue comedy full time...

, Jack McGee

Jack McGee

Jack McGee is an American television and film character actor. He has appeared in over 100 films and television series....

, Lex Medlin

Lex Medlin

Lex Medlin is an American comedic actor who has appeared in a wide variety of television commercials and sitcoms. A star of the 2006 Fox TV sitcom Happy Hour...

, Jay Mohr

Jay Mohr

Jay Mohr is an American actor and stand up comedian. He is known for his role as Professor Rick Payne in the TV series Ghost Whisperer, the title role in the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried, which ran from 2008 to 2010, and the back-stabbing sports agent Bob Sugar in Jerry Maguire.-Early life:Mohr was...

, Elizabeth Perkins

Elizabeth Perkins

Elizabeth Ann Perkins is an American actress. Her film roles have included Big, The Flintstones, Miracle on 34th Street, About Last Night..., and Avalon...

, Teri Polo

Teri Polo

Theresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo is an American actress known for her role of Pam Focker in the movie Meet the Parents and its two sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers...

, Sarah Rush

Sarah Rush

Sarah Rush is an American actress, best known in television for her work in the original Battlestar Galactica. She narrated and starred in the 2005 documentary The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania produced by Patricia Heaton and directed by David Hunt, which won the 2006 Heartland Film...

, Rena Sofer

Rena Sofer

Rena Sherel Sofer is an American actress, primarily known for her appearances in daytime television, episodic guest appearances, and made-for-television movies...

, Daniel Stern

Daniel Stern (actor)

Daniel Jacob Stern is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the Hollywood films C.H.U.D., Diner, City Slickers and the first two Home Alone films, and as the narrator for the television series The Wonder Years.-Early life:Stern was born in Bethesda, Maryland to a...

, Eric Stonestreet

Eric Stonestreet

Eric Stonestreet is an American actor, known for his starring role as Cameron Tucker on the ABC comedy Modern Family. Stonestreet has received critical acclaim for his performance in Modern Family and won the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his...

, Karen Strassman

Karen Strassman

Karen Strassman is an American voice actress and actress who is most known for her television and film appearances as well as voice acting. She voices many characters in many video games, animated series and anime series, including Zhalia Moon in Huntik: Secrets & Seekers, Fantine in IGPX, Kallen...

, Jack Wagner

Jack Wagner (actor)

Peter John "Jack" Wagner, II is an American actor and singer, best-known for his roles on the soap operas General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Melrose Place.-Early years:...

, Gary Weeks

Gary Weeks

Gary Weeks is a German-born, American film and television actor; he is also a film producer and screenwriter.-Film and television acting:...

, Chandra West

Chandra West

-1990s:West's career began in 1991 when she played a small part in the television series True Confections, a 1950s conservative drama about a woman with an ahead-of-her-time awareness...

, Wade Williams

Wade Williams

Wade Andrew Williams is an American actor who is best known for his starring role as Brad Bellick on Fox's television series Prison Break.-Personal life:...

, and Alex Wolff

Alex Wolff

Alexander Draper "Alex" Wolff is an American child actor and musician, currently playing in Nat and Alex Wolff. He is best known for his role as himself on the Nickelodeon series The Naked Brothers Band, also starring his older brother, Nat Wolff; the series was created by the boys' mother, Polly...

.

Episodes

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Series #	Season #	Title	Written by	Directed by	Viewers (millions)	Original air date

Emmy Awards

• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series
  Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series
  The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is an Emmy presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series.-Winners and nominees:...
  
   (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (Randy Newman
  Randy Newman
  Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
  
  , won)

Screen Actors Guild

• Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)