The end is near for Adrian Monk.  The defective detective will soon solve his last case as USA network decided to put an end to the long-running comedy Monk for its eighth and final season, which will kick off next summer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Starring Tony Shalhoub as a private detective who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, Monk has won numerous awards, including an Emmy and Golden Globe for the lead star's performance, and continues to be one of the top programs on cable, averaging 5 million viewers in its most recent season.

USA network gave no real reason for the ending of the series, but it certainly wasn't because of poor ratings.  The network allegedly decided to end the show while it was still creatively strong so it's safe to say at this point that the TV series Monk is dying of natural causes, with Shalhoub ready to move on to new projects.

Meanwhile, fans can look forward to a special holiday episode of Monk that will air on USA on Friday, November 28, before the special holiday episode of Psych.  Furthermore, the network, in announcing its decision on Friday, said it will produce 16 episodes for Monk's final season.

"We want to build to a spectacular conclusion for this wonderful show," Jeff Wachtel, executive, executive vice president for original programming at USA Network and co-head of original content at Universal Cable Prods., said in a statement.

"By many measures, Monk is the most successful series in the history of basic cable television—and it was certainly the original tentpole of our 'Character' brand.  Our fans have been extremely dedicated, and Season 8 should prove to be a very satisfying reward," he added.

In addition to Tony Shalhoub, Monk also stars Traylor Howard, Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford, just to name a few.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
(Image courtesy of USA network)