Pop Culture Zoo’s visit to the set of Psych literally began with a bang. Or maybe it was more of a loud pop. Actually, it kind of sounded more like a giant KRAK! – kind of like a comic book sound effect.
Either way, there was an explosion in a nondescript office cubicle, followed by Gus (Dulé Hill) shrieking and diving out of the way alongside Shawn (James Roday), as a puff of smoke filled the air. And, looking back, it was a pretty great way to officially start our day, as a bunch of media types got a behind-the-scenes look at the USA network’s comedy-action-mystery series, that’s halfway through it’s fifth season.
For the uninitiated, Psych follows Shawn Spencer, a man-child that’s as quick with a quip, as he is with his super-observational skills. Shawn is hired by the Santa Barbara Police Department under the pretense of being a psychic consultant and, each week, he and his childhood friend Burton “Gus” Guster help solve crimes. (Feel free to insert your own joke about The Mentalist here, but just know that Psych came first.)
Over the last five years, Shawn and Gus have helped cracked cases involving roller derby, a potential werewolf, and a psychotic serial killer inspired by Hitchcock films.
Even if you’ve never seen an episode before, it’s an easy hour of television to get sucked into each week. The banter between the two leads flies fast quicker than the wide-range of pop-culture references thrown out in any given episode. (In a Western-themed episode, you get a shout-out to Posse in one scene, and a riff on a famous Buster Keaton scene in another.)
Even though each episode begins with a childhood flashback of Shawn’s in the 80’s, the spirit of the entire show has the feel of an updated 80’s buddy cop movie, with pseudonyms that would put Irwin M. Fletcher to shame.
Psych has also had a heap of iconic guest actors that are well known as the characters they played 20-something years ago, like Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Alan Ruck, Cary Elwes, Tom Wilson – and that’s only skimming the surface. John Landis has even directed three episodes, and Curt Smith of Tears for Fears sang ‘Shout’ with Roday and Hill at Comic-Con this year, and will be showing up later in the season (as well as doing his spin on the show’s theme song).
During our set visit, we got a chance to talk to another icon from the 80’s who is taking a guest turn on the show – Ponyboy Curtis, himself — C. Thomas Howell (the interview will be posted later), who will be playing a Federal agent in a Bourne-inspired spy episode that will air on September 8th. The episode will act as Psych’s mid-season finale, before going on a brief hiatus.
The Bourne episode, titled ‘One, Maybe Two, Ways Out’, also co-stars Franka Potente (The Bourne Identity, Run Lola Run), who played a part in the explosive scene that started our day. In the episode, she’s cast as an international woman of mystery at the heart of the episode’s mystery. (True to pop-referencing form, Shawn and Gus recalled some dialogue from Spies Like Us before things went boom.)
Later in the day, Roday also spoke about how stoked he was that John Gries would also be featured in the same episode. Gries played Lazlo Holyfield in Real Geniuses – as well as Roger ‘Workman’ Linus on Lost — and the crew has wanted to bring him on with the right role since day one.
Throughout the day, we were shuttled around the Vancouver area, including the sound-stages that house Psych’s sets. (It probably goes without saying my often-grey-and-rainy city doesn’t look much like Santa Barbara.)
We walked through the elaborate Santa Barbara police department set, Shawn and Gus’ office, and Henry’s house (where I saw my first and only pineapple appearance, in the form of plastic pineapple-shaped containers). We also briefly saw construction on a new temporary set – a hallway where a couple of security guards will meet an unfortunate end. (Unfortunately, during all this, I only had my cell phone to take pictures on.)
We also talked to most of primary cast, including James Roday, Dulé Hill, Maggie Lawson, Tim Omundson, as well as writer/co-executive producer Saladin Patterson and producer Gordon Mark — and there were many teases given; about where things are headed for the characters in the second half of the season, as well as who their favorite guests have been. Some interesting names were also thrown out, in regards to who they’d still love to have guest on the show.
The transcribed interviews will be posted in the weeks to come, as well as some photos, but here’s some tidbits that were dropped regarding the future of Psych:
– The Yin-Yang storyline will be resolved this year, and all the characters that have been involved in past episodes are trying to be brought aboard, including Shawn’s mom, who was played by Cybill Shephard.
-Chi McBride, who is filming Human Target in Vancouver, will guest star in an upcoming episode.
-As much as the show likes to riff on 80’s movies, one themed episode that creator and show-runner Steve Franks won’t allow is a robot episode – so, no Johnny 5 or Robocop references for us.
– On the hell-yes front, there will be an upcoming Twin Peaks-themed episode. Roday is good friends with Dana Ashbrook, who played bad boy Bobby Briggs, and said the actor was “instrumental in helping some of the pieces fall in place.” (Fingers crossed for a return of the Log Lady.)
– There will also be a Christmas episode this year. It will use It’s A Wonderful Life as its template. Roday is co-writing the episode and teased that there’d be some pretty bizarre stuff in store, and he also warned that it could be a divisive episode.
-There will be a sequel to the first episode of Season 4, “Extradition: British Columbia’, which saw my fair city play itself. Cary Elwes is set to return as Pierre, the art thief.
-And finally, writer/producer Andy Berman spoke to us for a bit in between takes and mentioned that he had a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-esque episode he’s been wanting to do. It’s possible that I’m taking this story out of context – or even making the whole thing up — but I’d love to see it, and I think we should push for this to be truth, even if I totally heard him wrong. (Update: I just did a little IMDb’ing and Berman wrote and directed a short film in 2000 about two Oompa Loopas working on the set of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory – a Psych episode with Oompa Loompas needs to happen, especially if they turn out to be deranged mass murderers and the Lollipop Guild is a shadowy group that would put Dan Brown to shame.)