USA NETWORK HIT SERIES "Psych" CONTINUES ITS FIRST SEASON FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 AT 10/9c
Hot new series starring James Roday, Dulè Hill and Corbin Bernsen returns with all new episodes
NEW YORK -- DECEMBER 19, 2006 -- Psych, this year's No. 1 new show on cable continues its first season with all new episodes on Friday, January 19 2007 at 10/9c. USA will also host a Psych Marathon on Saturday, January 13 2007 from 12:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. featuring seven episodes.
A quick-witted drama, Psych stars James Roday ("The Dukes of Hazzard") as young police consultant Shawn Spencer who solves crimes with powers of observation so acute the precinct detectives think he's Psychic – at least that's what he lets them believe. The series also stars Dulé Hill ("The West Wing") as Shawn's best friend and reluctant sidekick Gus and Corbin Bernsen ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," "L.A. Law") as Shawn's disapproving father, who ironically was the one who honed his son's "observation" skills as a child. Also featured are Timothy Omundson ("Judging Amy," "Deadwood"), Maggie Lawson ("Crumbs," "Inside Schwartz") and Kirsten Nelson ("Everwood").
Raised in Santa Barbara, Shawn possesses uncanny powers of observation honed by his police officer father, Henry, who drilled young Shawn to note even the smallest of details from his surroundings as a way of grooming him for his inevitable career in the family business. Unfortunately, when a rift develops between father and son, Shawn finds himself taking a series of random jobs instead of becoming the detective he was groomed to be. However, for the fun of it, he makes a habit of calling in tips to the police about cases he reads about or sees on television, and when one of his tips appears too close to the truth, the police are convinced that Shawn is an accomplice and arrest him. Using his charm and well-tuned talent, Shawn convinces the cops that he's actually a Psychic, and although highly skeptical of his explanation, they hire him to help solve tough cases. With the reluctant assistance of his best friend Gus (Hill), Shawn uses his skills of observation and charismatic personality to become the detective he was trained to be, opening his own PI agency - Psych, and solving cases for an ever-suspicious - but grudgingly impressed - police force.
Guest stars for the upcoming season include Academy Award-winner Mercedes Ruehl ("The Fisher King"), Richard Kind ("Mad About You"), Dan Lauria ("The Wonder Years"), Kurtwood Smith ("That 70's Show") and Nicole Lyn ("Feast of All Saints") as well as guest directors John Landis, Tim Matheson and Joanna Kerns.
As the first season continues, Henry's former boss Captain Connors (Smith) knows he's solved a crime but can't remember it. He comes to Shawn for help, who must piece together not only Connors' memories, but also the clues buried in them to find the killer; a woman sleeps with a beloved local weatherman but wakes up to find him dead and she is charged with his murder. Shawn finds a way into the case by becoming a consultant to the defense; Shawn and Gus step into a real life urban legend, as they investigate a death suspiciously like the tale of "Scary Sherry," who met her untimely end at the now haunted Wispy Sunny Pines mental institution; before the Psych Agency can begin to investigate the disappearance of an up and coming tennis star, Shawn must first retrieve Gus from a corporate retreat, and they soon realize things are not always as they appear; when a drunken and depressed Lassiter confesses to Shawn that he has doubts about the death of an astronomer, officially listed as being of natural causes, Shawn sets out to secretly prove the detective right in order to boost his morale; as a joke, Lassiter gives Shawn the case when a man shows up naked at the police station claiming to have been abducted by aliens, but Shawn's investigation soon takes in him into an even stranger universe – speed dating; and, Henry's friend Peterson (Lauria) refuses to call the police after his wayward son steals from him and then goes missing, which forces Henry to go find help in the last place he ever wanted to visit – the Psych office.
Psych is executive produced by Steve Franks ("Big Daddy"), in association with Tagline Pictures' Kelly Kulchack and Chris Henze and NBC Universal Television Studio. Jack Sakmar & Kerry Lenhart ("Boston Public," "Ed") and Mel Damski ("Picket Fences") are co-executive producers, Douglas Steinberg ("Boston Public") is consulting producer. Story editor is Anupam Nigam and Andy Berman serves as staff writer.