15 Trivia Tidbits About ‘Psych’
Arguably the greatest thing to show up on the USA Network not involving show dogs or the ironically-enjoyable exploits of Walker, Texas Ranger, Psych chronicled the mystery-solving antics of bogus psychic investigators Shawn Spencer and Gus Guster. So to honor this beloved show, we’ve assembled some trivia about the only psychic fraudster people don’t actively hate, starting with how…
The Pineapple Running Gag Began With Random Improv
Famously, Psych features a hidden pineapple in every episode, a running gag that began when James Roday Rodriguez randomly did some improv with a prop pineapple in the pilot episode.
Kirsten Nelson Was Five Months Pregnant When She Auditioned
Nelson, who played Chief Karen Vick, was “about four to five months pregnant” during her audition. While she tried to hide it at first, soon that became impossible; thankfully, the producers loved the idea of making Vick pregnant.
Creator Steve Franks Took Inspiration From His Cop Dad
Franks, not unlike Shawn, had a cop for a dad, an LAPD officer who similarly trained his son to register every minute detail around him. “I guess I was wired for this sort of show,” Franks has admitted.
Before ‘Psych,’ Franks Wrote’ Big Daddy’
Franks’ first credit was the Adam Sandler vehicle Big Daddy, which he wrote while working at Disneyland.
The Cast of ‘Clue’ Reunited for an Episode
Psych is known for its pop-culture homages, and perhaps none was more loving than the 100th episode “100 Clues,” which reunited several stars of the classic 1980s comedy Clue — and even included multiple endings!
The Musical Episode Took Years to Get Made
The two-hour seventh season episode “Psych: The Musical” was, well, a musical. Reportedly, the episode had been in the works for years, with Franks “pitching a musical episode ever since Season Two.”
Cybill Shepherd’s Role Was Named After Her Character in ‘Moonlighting’
Another lighthearted, banter-filled show that served as a major influence on Psych was the Bruce Willis and Shepherd-starring Moonlighting. When Shepherd guest-starred on Psych as Shawn’s mother, her character was named Madeline, while her Moonlight character was called Maddie. “That may not be an accident,” Shepherd has noted.
The Theme Song Is Performed by Steve Franks’ Band
The show’s theme song, “I Know, You Know,” was written by Franks and performed by his band.
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The Show Kept Casting the Stars of ‘The Breakfast Club’
Psych featured appearances from all the stars of The Breakfast Club, with the exception of Emilio Estevez for some reason.
The Writers Basically Remade a Disappointing Episode
One of the show’s less-popular episodes was Season One’s “Cloudy… with a Chance of Murder,” which was revisited years later with the episode “Remake, aka Cloudy… With a Chance of Improvement.”
The Creators Were Too Afraid to Ask David Lynch to Cameo in the ‘Twin Peaks’ Episode
For the Twin Peaks-themed episode “Dual Spires,” the producers thought about trying to get Lynch to make a cameo, but according to James Roday Rodriguez, nobody asked because they all worried, “What if he hates it? We’re going to be devastated.”
Val Kilmer Showed Up in the Finale
In the last episode of the series, we finally see the mysterious Detective Dobson — and he’s played by Kilmer.
1.9 Million People Tuned into the Last Episode
The finale, titled “The Break-Up,” was viewed by 1.93 million people the night it aired.
There Are Three Movies (And Could be More)
After the series wrapped, we got three TV movies (Psych: The Movie, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home and Psych 3: This Is Gus), and as recently as earlier this year, there have been talks of a fourth.
James Roday Rodriguez and Dulé Hill Reunited for a Zombie Cartoon
In 2021, Rodriguez and Hill worked together again– not for a Psych project, but as voices in a straight-to-video animated remake of Night of the Living Dead, which presumably only got made due to a 1960s copyright snafu.
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