MR. MONK’S LAST CASE Creator Reveals New MONK Movie Details
By Movieguide® Contributor
The story of TV serial detective Adrian Monk continues in MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE.
The upcoming movie’s creator, Andy Breckman, recently gave a sneak peek to Explore Entertainment.
“The movie finds Monk in a pretty dark place, and he’s back in a hole that he has to try to dig out of emotionally,” Breckman said.
Despite the positive conclusion in the TV series finale, the germaphobic detective’s life takes a negative turn in the new movie. The COVID-19 pandemic throws him into a funk.
“Monk, like all of us, spent a few months at the peak of the pandemic in a hazmat suit, either literally or figuratively,” Breckman shared.
Movieguide® reported:
In addition to [Tony] Shalhoub, [who plays Monk], cast members Ted Levine, Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford, Melora Hardin and Héctor Elizondo will all reprise their roles.
“When creator Andy Breckman came to us with a new Monk case set in present day, we immediately fell in love with this story all over again,” said Michael Sluchan, the Executive Vice President of movies, kids and daytime at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.
He continued, “The movie has the heart and humor of the original series with a contemporary relevance, and we’re overjoyed to work with the original creative team, including Andy, David Hoberman, Randy Zisk, the unparalleled Tony Shalhoub, and our partners at UCP, for what is sure to be a must-see movie event for Peacock audiences.”
“We’re so delighted to have made a movie version of Monk, and we are thrilled that every one of our stars were so enthusiastic about coming back,” said Breckman, Hoberman and Zisk in a statement. “But in coming back, we wanted to do a film that was worthy of our legacy. MR. MONK’S LAST CASE is a story that is powerful, emotional, funny, heartwarming, and has something to say about the human condition. And it will be both familiar and surprising.”
The new case finds the detective up against a self-centered billionaire, Rick Eden. Monk’s wife’s daughter from an affair, Molly, is supposed to get married when something happens to her fiancé.
“When people ask me what the original series was about, I always say it was about loss,” Breckman said. “It was Monk dealing with the loss of his beloved wife, Trudy. And that, of course, we solved in the series finale. But the movie presents Monk with an equally emotional challenge that he has to step up and address. We found a way to raise the stakes yet again for this poor guy.”
Breckman shared that public interest in Monk resurged when he appeared in MR. MONK SHELTERS IN PLACE, a short film that was produced amid the pandemic. That was all the encouragement needed to create a new story for the detective.
MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE will stream on Peacock on December 8, 2023.
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