Monk | |
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Genre | |
Created by |
Andy Breckman David Hoberman |
Starring | |
Opening theme | Instrumental theme by Jeff Beal (season 1) "It's a Jungle Out There" by Randy Newman (seasons 2–8) |
Ending theme | Instrumental theme by Jeff Beal (season 1) "It's a Jungle Out There" (instrumental) (seasons 2–8) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 8 |
No. of episodes | 125 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
|
Camera setup | Film; Single-camera |
Running time | 40–45 minutes |
Production company(s) |
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Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network | USA Network |
Picture format | 480i (NTSC), 1080i (HDTV) |
Original release | July 12, 2002 | – December 4, 2009
Website |
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the eponymous character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a police procedural series, and also exhibits comic and dramatic tones in its exploration of the main characters' personal lives. The series was produced by Mandeville Films and Touchstone Television in association with Universal Television.
The series debuted on July 12, 2002, on USA Network. It continued for eight seasons, with the final season concluding on December 4, 2009. The series held the record for the most-watched scripted drama episode in cable television history from 2009 through 2012 (broken by The Walking Dead) with "Mr. Monk and the End – Part II", its series finale, with 9.4 million viewers, 3.2 million of them in the 18–49 demographic.
Adrian Monk was a brilliant detective for the San Francisco Police Department until his wife, Trudy, was killed by a car bomb in a parking garage, which Monk then believed was intended for him. In a later episode, he discovers the bomb was truly meant for Trudy. He later believes that Trudy's death was part of a larger conspiracy that she had uncovered during her time as a journalist. Trudy's death led Monk to suffer a nervous breakdown. He was then discharged from the force and became a recluse, refusing to leave his house for three and a half years. Until the final episode, Trudy's death was Monk's only unsolved case.