The delicious comedy detective series has been renewed for a seventh season, USA announced today via a unique fan-driven social media campaign.

So what do devoted Psych­-O’s have to look forward to next fall?

That long-awaited musical episode, for starters. Creator Steve Franks (who wrote and performs the Psych theme song with his band the Friendly Indians) promised fans at this summer’s Comic-Con that it would be the first episode of season seven if the show was picked up. (Stars James Roday and Dulé Hill’s vocal talents are showcased in their hilarious music video spoofs of “Ebony and Ivory” and “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”).

The 16-episode order should also include a Clue tribute, which had to be cut from season six due to scheduling conflicts with the cult classic’s star Tim Curry. “We were all in agreement that we cannot do Clue without Tim Curry, Roday told us this summer on the show’s Santa Barbara Vancouver set, so it will air “right out of the gates.”

Meanwhile, mark your calendars for the Leap Day return of Psych’s sixth season: Wed., Feb. 29 on USA.

Source: E! Online

Is it true that you were reluctant to take on the role of Spencer?

I had just come off my third consecutive failed television series. I had sworn off doing TV for a while. I was going to go to New York, sublet an apartment and find my soul again. Before I got on the plane, my agent sent me the script for Psych. I read it on the plane and realised it had a lot of potential.

What did you do next?

I got on the phone with Steve Franks, the show’s creator, which is unusual because you usually audition. I didn’t want to do that, though. We talked for 2½ hours about what the show meant to him, what I liked about the show and what I felt it would need to be for me to deliver the goods.

Did you have much say in casting The West Wing’s Dule Hill as Gus?

Well, instead of a nerdy Jewish guy with glasses, which is how it was written, we ended up with an African-American who couldn’t have been more different to that. I felt like everybody won because the pilot came out as a pretty good representation of what the series could be.

You are credited as a producer on the show. Why?

It was a function of geography first. We shoot in Vancouver but the writers’ room is in Manhattan Beach [in California]. So what we discovered early on was it was the inmates running the asylum in Vancouver. So I stepped up and put on a producer’s hat to make this happen. It was odd because it was a lot of people who had never done TV before. There was some ‘blind leading the blind’ going on.

There’s been more drama and emotion of late. Is that deliberate?

We hope that’s the formula that buys us space to do the ludicrous stuff. The show is about two best friends who have known each other since they were in diapers, who are living out a childhood dream as adults. We use that as an anchor to keep the show on the ground and allow us to write comedy.

Surely there must be a use-by date for Shawn’s fake psychic pretence?

It’s something I’m hyper-aware of. It’s been a special experience for me and to overstay our welcome would be a real shame. We’re getting there. We’re definitely closer to the end than the beginning. There is a statute of limitations on how long a grown man can act like a child. This is Peter Pan. But the difference is, Peter Pan always looks the same but we’re getting older. It’s not a show that can last forever and I think we’re getting to the point of asking how we can send this off.

Your show began screening as a double bill with Monk in 2006. How much has the TV landscape changed since then?

Monk planted the seed that a procedural could have character and be quirky and have comedy. They rolled the dice with us and took what Monk did and we just went all the way with it. And people cared. Suddenly you have this new breed of procedural with [characters with] tongues in their cheeks popping up all over the place.

Source: SMH

Don’t be sad, Shawn and Gus will be back will all-new episodes of Psych starting in February 2012!

He might not be hanging around that popular Hollywood zip code anymore, but Jason Priestley is staying busy in front of the camera, according to the latest from EW.com. In addition to starring in the DirecTV series, Call Me Fitz, and joining SyFy’s Haven, he’ll also be stirring up some trouble on USA’s Psych.

When he crosses paths with Shawn (James Roday) and Juliet (Maggie Lawson), Priestley will be portraying a motorcycle-riding con artist who has the misfortune to try and pull a fast one at the same spa resort that Shawn and Juliet are staying at for the weekend.

Guest-starring on the same episode will be Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Royal Pains) as the owner of an import/export business.

The quirky guy with the keen observation skills and his pals have all kinds of people stopping by during Season 6, so in addition to Priestley and Hale, you’ll also be able to see Danny Glover, Molly Ringwald, Joey McIntyre, Condoleeza Rice, and the master of the drawn-out sentence, William Shatner.

Psych returns for Season 6 on the USA Network this fall.

[Source]

LOS ANGELES – July 7, 2011 – USA, which just celebrated its 20th consecutive quarterly win as the #1 entertainment cable network and is currently dominating summer’s television landscape with a record number of original hits, returns to Comic-Con® for the third year in a row with talent and creators from three of its critically acclaimed and top rated shows – Covert Affairs, PSYCH and Burn Notice. USA panels will take place as Comic-Con kicks off on Thursday, July 21, 2011.

PSYCH, USA’s current longest running hit series, returns to Comic-Con® with a panel moderated by guest Kurt Fuller, known to fans as “Woody The Coroner.” The entire main cast will take part in the panel including James Roday, who stars as Shawn Spencer, solving crimes for the Santa Barbara police department in his own special way; Dulé Hill who co-stars as Shawn’s best friend and reluctant sidekick Gus; Corbin Bernsen as Shawn’s disapproving father; and Maggie Lawson and Timothy Omundson who play the police detectives O’Hara and Lassiter who unwillingly rely on Shawn’s psychic skills, along with the police chief Vick played by Kirsten Nelson. Joining the panel will be creator and executive producer Steve Franks and executive producers Chris Henke and Kelly Kulchak. PSYCH returns for its sixth season on USA this Fall.

[Source]

LEGACY INTERACTIVE®, UNIVERSAL CABLE PRODUCTIONS, USA NETWORK, AND NBCUNIVERSAL TURN POPULAR TELEVISION SHOW INTO AN INTERACTIVE GAME

“Psych” Game to Appeal to Massive Casual Games Audience While Extending Current Fan Engagement Initiatives

Game is Licensed Through Universal Partnerships & Licensing on Behalf of NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA – June 2, 2011 – Leading casual game developer and publisher Legacy Interactive® announced today that they have signed a licensing agreement with Universal Partnerships & Licensing to develop a videogame based on the Universal Cable Productions detective comedy-drama series “Psych.” The videogame, slated to launch in Q4-2011 on the PC and Mac, will be the latest addition to Legacy’s popular “Hollywood Hits” game series that includes “Murder, She Wrote,” “House, M.D.,” “Ghost Whisperer,” and “Criminal Minds.” A fan favorite and the #1 new series when it premiered on USA Network, “Psych,” is about Santa Barbara’s favorite crime psychic team starring James Roday and Dulé Hill.

“Legacy Interactive is thrilled to be collaborating again with NBCUniversal,” said Ariella Lehrer, President and CEO of Legacy Interactive. “’Psych’ is the perfect TV license for the light adventure game customer, given how its protagonist, Shawn Spencer, uses observational skills to solve crimes. Imagine the opportunities for hidden object game play. Plus, the show has such a great, fun vibe!”

Adapted from the USA Network television series of the same name, TV fans and casual gamers alike can join Shawn and Gus at the Santa Barbara Police Department, as the hilarious duo solves crimes, pretending to use unique psychic powers. “Psych” will be available on Legacy Games for PC/Mac download at http://www.legacygames.com and at top retailers nationwide. “Psych” is licensed through Universal Partnerships & Licensing on behalf of NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group, Universal Cable Productions and USA Network. “Psych’s” sixth season will air this Fall on USA.

“Humor, mystery, and co-operation are fantastic elements to work into a casual game design, and “) ‘Psych’ is chock full of these attributes,” said Bill Kispert, Vice President & General Manager, Digital Platforms, Universal Partnerships & Licensing. “We are excited to bring clever, new cases to “Psych” fans online, and to partner again with Legacy Interactive with a leading TV brand.”

“Psych” blends light adventure gameplay with challenging hidden object searches, as players take on the role of Shawn Spencer, who consults with the local police department to solve crimes as a would-be psychic while actually using his heightened observational skills. The game consists of two all-new episodic cases to solve with a cast of quirky witnesses and suspects and no shortage of witty banter between Shawn and best friend Gus. While exploring the beautiful Santa Barbara locales, players must collect inventory items, play mini-games to find previously undetected evidence, solve clever puzzles, and help Shawn and Gus talk their way into and out of trouble. Players must stay alert and watch for clues only an expertly trained investigator, or perhaps even a real psychic, would be able to see in order to uncover the truth.

In tandem with the launch of the game, USA Network will offer a free 30-minute trial of the game on their “Character Arcade” (www.characterarcade.com). Character Arcade is USA Network’s casual/social gaming destination that offers fans an interactive experience beyond game-play. The site includes access to gamer portfolio tools, social networking, an affinity rewards program, industry news, chat-blog forums and new gaming options, including PC, downloadable and MMO titles.

[Source]

Maggie Lawson’s birthday is coming up (August 12th) and we would like to wish her a very happy birthday. Hayley and I are creating a scrapbook for Maggie, which will be full of birthday messages for her. We would like you to be involved! If you would like to send her a birthday message, please email it to birthday@maggielawson.net, and we will be sure to include it in her book. You have until August 1, 2011 to send your messages in.
Let’s make Maggie’s birthday special!

Just a few guidelines to take note of:

Please remember that this is a scrapbook, so keep your messages short.
Please do not mention her personal life
Please do not give out any personal information

[Source]

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Live performance by Grammy nominee Janelle Monáe and gourmet food by Danny Meyer

On the heels of USA’s fifth consecutive year as the number one cable network,
USA will celebrate with its biggest Upfront event ever on Monday, May 2 at the Tent of Lincoln Center.

Proliferating the theme “Bring Your Own Character,”
USA invites Madison Avenue to truly experience a 360? character-driven event starring USA’s tremendous roster of talent.

In lieu of executives presenting financial figures, USA is taking an unconventional approach with
stars Matt Bomer (WHITE COLLAR), Tim DeKay (WHITE COLLAR), Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice),
Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains), Dulé Hill (PSYCH), Piper Perabo (COVERT AFFAIRS), Sendhil Ramamurthy (COVERT AFFAIRS),
James Roday (PSYCH) and Sarah Shahi (FAIRLY LEGAL) helming the evening as they present the future of the network.

This year, USA is bigger and better than ever with the most hours of original programming in the network’s history.

The event will feature cuisine by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Events
and an exciting performance by three-time Grammy nominee and Character Approved Honoree Janelle Monáe.
In addition to a star-studded red carpet, live entertainment and gourmet food stations,

USA will present an original photographic art gallery by renowned photographer Robert Maxwell,
as well as multimedia presentations featuring candid “Character Interviews” with the stars of USA.

Immediately following the presentation will be an after-party with cocktails and mingling with the stars of USA,
including new summer original series SUITS, premiering Thursday, June 23 at 10/9c
and the cast of NECESSARY ROUGHNESS, premiering Wednesday, June 29 at 10/9c.