Criminal Minds meets Burn Notice meets Saturday Night Live. When these three shows come together, they form the hilarious TV show, Psych. The USA show written by Steve Franks focuses on Shawn Spencer (James Roday), his best friend Burton Guster (Dulé Hill) – a.k.a. Gus – and their adventures with the Santa Barbara police department. Growing up with a police detective for a father, Shawn learned early on how the law works. His dad, Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen), raised him to notice and remember the smallest details everywhere he goes and put them together to make a deduction. After Shawn convinces the police he’s psychic, he and Gus work with head detective Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) and his partner Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson) on cases varying from a disappearing mummy to a homicidal polar bear.
If that summary isn’t enough to convince you Psych is the best crime show in television history, here are 10 more reasons to go on a Netflix binge.
Women and people of color are in positions of power. In one episode, Shawn jokingly says, “Gus, don’t be the only black lead on a major cable TV network.” While the show was airing on TV, Gus was the only black lead on a major cable TV network. Juliet O’Hara is the department’s junior detective and the police chief is Karen Vick who, in season one, has a baby and juggles her career and raising a child.
Building off of Shawn’s comment to Gus, Shawn frequently says, “Gus don’t be…” with some off-the-rails comparison. Some of the best include:
- “Gus, don’t be a rabid porcupine.”
- “Gus, don’t be a gooey chocolate chip cookie.”
- “Gus, don’t be exactly half of an 11 pound black forest ham.”
- “Gus, don’t be the one game at Chuck E. Cheese that isn’t broken.”
Along with “Gus, don’t be…” Shawn likes to give Gus some unconventional nicknames when they’re on a case and introducing themselves to some of the witnesses or suspects. There are way too many to list here, but these are some of the best:
- Galileo Humpkins
- Longbranch Pennywhistle
- Hummingbird Saltalamacchia
- Hollabackatcha
- Doughnut Holschtein
Shawn and his dad Henry seem to have a love/hate relationship, but there are so many moments that prove they just like to argue and it’s easiest to argue with family. Shawn always goes to his dad when he needs help on a case and, even though he sometimes makes Shawn clean the gutters or build a dog house, Henry is always ready to help. While his dad is being taken into surgery in season eight, Shawn keeps his role as comedy relief and says, “I’m pretty sure, like, 90% of gunshot wounds are psychological,” followed by, “You better save him, that’s my dad."
Psych has one of the most lovable villains ever written. Pierre Despereaux is a renowned art thief who shows up in four episodes throughout all eight seasons. He technically hasn’t actually stolen anything, since all the art was given to him and made to look like a robbery so the owners can cash in on the insurance policies, but he still spends time in prison. He and Shawn become surprisingly good friends and when he returns in season eight, his plot gets a little crazy.
The entire series is full of pop culture references, mostly made by Shawn. Most of the time, he’s comparing whatever situation he and Gus are into an ‘80s movie. He even talks about how much he loves The Mentalist which has been criticized as a rip-off of Psych. The show has a lot of famous guests, including Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson from The Breakfast Club. Bonus: the first episode of season eight is Harry Potter themed and an episode in season six is Ghostbusters themed.
One of the officers is named Buzz McNab and the coroner is Woody Strode. Buzz and Woody. Oh, and they’re both hilarious.
Shawn and Lassiter have some of the best interactions. Shawn has fun lines like, “How can you tell that someone’s a compulsive liar? I mean, assuming that their pants aren’t on fire,” while Lassie has lines like, “I would rather shower with a bear.” Then the two get together and it goes a little something like this…
Shawn: Good morning, detectives. Collecting money for the Policeman’s Ball?
Lassie: We don’t have balls.
All eight seasons are on Netflix and with summer break coming up, you’ll have plenty of time to watch it all!
“You hear about Pluto? That’s messed up.”
