Psych: The Movie, a rethinking of the series that ran on USA for eight seasons, premieres on USA Thursday, Dec. 7. Dulé Hill, James Roday, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson, Corbin Bernsen and Tim Omundson are in the movie. It features "psychic" detective Shawn Spencer (Roday) and Burton “Gus” Guster (Hill) opening up their new office in San Francisco, and going back in business solving a case after a mystery assailant targets one of their own.
The show wrapped in 2014. “We had an inkling it would not be our last time together,” Roday told B&C. “Our fans made sure of that.”
Roday says the Psych fan base seems to have grown over the years, with an “infusion of youth” joining the group. “I felt like it brought on a whole new generation of viewers,” he said. “I’m not sure how it happened.”
Roday believes the series’ light-hearted nature may have attracted some younger viewers. “The show never took itself too seriously,” he says. “There was an overriding theme of hope. For 48 minutes, we did our best to make you giggle.”
The cast shared details about the movie project at New York Comic-Con in October. Zachary Levi plays a bad guy in the movie. “I’ve wanted to work with Zachary a long time,” said Hill. “This time, everything fell into place.”
Creator Steve Franks has spoken about doing a number of Psych movies. Hill says he’s talked about doing six of them. “That’s a genius, wacky mind over there,” says Hill. “As long as fans want it, there’s an appetite for it, we’ll be down to do it.”
He says Psych: The Movie took three weeks to film in Vancouver. “Everybody knows what they’re doing,” he said of the cast and crew.
Psych: The Movie screened in New York Nov. 27 and Los Angeles December 4, and there was a contest for a third city to host a screening too, which was won by Salt Lake City, which held its event Nov. 30.
The cast are happy to be revisiting their roles, and reconnecting with fans of the show. “We’re thankful that Psych fans,” says Hill, “have stayed engaged with us over the years.”
