Adrian Monk, the phobic, compulsive private investigator at the centre of the American police comedy Monk, made his television debut on July 12, 2002, 20 years ago.
Eight seasons later, Monk’s series finale set a record for the most-watched hour-long drama on basic cable, a title it held until The Walking Dead stumbled along. Along the way, Tony Shalhoub, an actor, received three Emmys for his depiction of the eccentric P.I.
Monk has endured for so long thanks to the writers and cast, who kept the programme going after fan favourite actress Bitty Schram abruptly left the show midway through Season 3. (Schram, who appeared in one episode of Monk’s final season, is said to have quit the programme due to a conflict over her and other supporting cast members’ contracts.)
Tony Shalhoub (Adrian Monk)
For his work in the Broadway production of The Band’s Visit, Shalhoub won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. His supporting performance as professor Abe Weissman in the sitcom The Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Amazon Prime Video earned him his fourth Emmy Award in 2019.
The CBS political satire BrainDead, in which he played the lead role of U.S. Senator Red Wheatus, is among his other recent TV appearances.
Bitty Schram (Sharona Fleming)
Following the conclusion of Monk, Schram faded from view: Her smallest acting role since her 2009 Monk comeback comes in the 2016 film Moments of Clarity.
Jason Gray-Stanford (Randall Disher)
Since Monk, Gray-Stanford has appeared as a guest star on other TV programmes, including DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, The X-Files, iZombie, and The Boys.
He had a heart transplant in 2020 after being diagnosed with heart failure, and he later wrote in a TODAY essay that he would have only had a few weeks to live without it.
Ted Levine (Leland Stottlemeyer)
Recent TV roles for Levine include Lt. Hank Wade in the FX police drama The Bridge, retired police chief Thomas F. Bynes in the TNT period drama The Alienist, cult leader Obie Garbeau II in the Showtime comedy On Becoming a God in Central Florida, and ranch owner Horst Kleinsasser in the ABC crime drama Big Sky.
Traylor Portman (natalie Teeger)
According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution feature from 2014, Traylor Portman and her architect husband Jarel Portman were raising their 2-year-old son Julien.
Traylor Portman is credited on Monk under her maiden name, Traylor Howard. She did reprise her role as Natalie Teeger in Peacock’s The At-Home Variety Show in 2020 for a Monk short, appearing alongside Shalhoub, Gray-Stanford, and Levine.
Emmy Clarke (Julie Teeger)
After Monk concluded, Clarke obtained a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is currently a team lead of client solutions at TikTok.