TV Revivals: Should ‘Psych,’ James Roday, Dule Hill, and many pineapples return to TV?

I know, you know … that we’re talking about “Psych” today in the latest edition of our TV Revivals series. This is ground we’re covering on CarterMatt all month long; with the recent arrivals of “Girl Meets World,” the upcoming launch of “Fuller House,” and even the revived “Gilmore Girls” down the road, it’s rather fun to dive in and explore some of our longtime favorites in an era where nostalgia is reigning supreme.

In the case of “Psych,” though, we’re not so much talking about a show that ended a decade or more ago. The USA mystery-comedy starring James Roday and Dule Hill only ended in the spring of 2014; the ink’s still not dry! So why bring it back? As we’re going to explain below, there’s a whole lot more show to explore for one despite it running eight seasons, and we’re not quite sure any other series out there has managed to strike that balance of being incredibly funny while also telling innovative, at-times ridiculous mysteries.

Also, we need more pineapples on TV.

How it ended – Shawn Spencer (Roday) finally decides that he is ready to take his life in a new direction, and he and Gus (Hill) opt to relocate their fake psychic-detective agency to San Francisco, where Juliet (Maggie Lawson) and Vick (Kristen Nelson) are now operating. Shawn proposes to Juliet, she says yes, and then the engagement ring is stolen. The ending suggests that there could be many more fun capers ahead … and there’s also an Adrian Monk reference in there, great for people who loved that show on USA. (It’d too bad the “Monk” – “Psych” crossover we long envisioned never happened.)

How it could continue – This one’s really not that hard to figure out. Most of the core characters are already up in the Bay Area, and you can find a way to write Lassiter (Timothy Omundson, bonus points if he gets to keep the “Galavant” beard) into the show rather than having him stay in Santa Barbara. You just come up with some new cases, and you could still tell a story revolving around a potential Shawn – Juliet wedding or some personal developments for Gus.

It’s weird in a way to say that a series that lasted for eight seasons somehow had a rushed ending, but it still feels like “Psych” really did and it’d be nice to go back and explore things again with more time and continuity. Due to her commitments to “Back in the Game” Lawson was only present for a percentage of the final season, and given the lengthy buildup we feel like plenty of people were hoping to see a bigger milestone for Shawn and Jules. Just think of some of the things from the past couple of years that the show could really skewer: Tinder, Snapchat, hipsters, “Netflix and chill,” hoverboards. You get the gist…

Can it be brought back? – In theory, sure. It was a popular show with a super-devoted audience, and we cannot imagine that a single “Psych” fan would be bummed out to get more, even if it was set somewhere other than Santa Barbara. With that being said, the cast has moved on to other movies and TV shows, and even USA has shifted their identity more to airing more serialized drama as opposed to procedurals with a heavy comedic element. We’d say that at the moment, “Royal Pains” is the only show left from that era, and it is likely ending soon.

There are some revivals that we’re talking about in this series that we don’t believe will ever happen. With “Psych,” there could be a chance. We just don’t see it in the reasonably near future.