Summary

• Anne Dudek's character, Lucinda Barry, was quickly replaced by Juliet due to not testing well with audiences in the Psych pilot.
• Dudek's departure was due to her character having an affair with Lassiter, which viewers did not react positively to.
• Juliet's introduction brought much-needed chemistry to the show, making her the perfect contrast to Lassiter's character on Psych.

Anne Dudek played Lassiter's partner, Lucinda Barry, in the pilot episode of Psych, but she was quickly replaced by Juliet (Maggie Lawson). Starting with Psych season 1, episode 2, Juliet was the main love interest of Shawn Spencer (James Roday), one of the show's two main protagonists, and was partnered with Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) at the Santa Barbara police department. Juliet worked alongside Lassiter in solving homicide cases, with Shawn and Gus (Dulé Hill) always getting in the way and coming to their own conclusions about each death.

Before Juliet was on Psych, Lassiter had a completely different character as his partner. Played by Anne Dudek, Junior Detective Lucinda Barry was working with Lassiter when Shawn and Gus first came onto the scene. Shawn was quick to deduce through his natural gift of observance that Lassiter - who was currently separated from his wife - was having an affair with Lucinda. Following this discovery, Anne Dudek's character was never seen again after Psych's pilot. At the beginning of episode 2, Shawn met Juliet in a diner, and learned that she was transferred to Santa Barbara to become Lassiter's new partner.

Why Anne Dudek Left Psych

Dudek's Character Didn't Test Well

...the show largely left her behind once Jules stepped in.

Behind the scenes, Psych's producers and writers decided not to keep Anne Dudek for the rest of the series because her pilot character didn't test well with audiences. Psych creator Steve Franks has explained that Lucinda Barry's affair with Lassiter made a negative impact on their opinion of Lassiter's character. It was mentioned briefly in the Psych pilot that Lassiter was separated, but not everyone in the test audience caught on to this, and some took it that Lassiter was cheating on his wife.

Though Franks wanted Lassiter to be an "antagonist" to Shawn, they still wanted Psych viewers to like him. Franks has said that after moving on from Anne Dudek and Lucinda Barry, they cast Maggie Lawson, and that was "the magic of what made everything work" (via EW). Lucinda Barry would be referenced a few times after Psych's pilot, but the show largely left her behind once Jules stepped in.

Considering Juliet O'Hara's Psych introduction made her Shawn's series-long romantic interest, it's curious as to what the plan for Shawn's love life would have been had Anne Dudek stuck around. While the firing range scene between Shawn and Anne Dudek's character in Psych's pilot hinted at a possible flirtation, it paled in comparison to the spark between James Roday and Maggie Lawson. Nonetheless, Anne Dudek would remain a relic of Psych's past after the pilot, with only a few hints at what happened to Lucinda Barry after her departure.

In hindsight, it's easy to see why replacing Anne Dudek's Lucinda Barry with Maggie Lawson's Juliet O'Hara was the best direction for Psych to take after the pilot, as she brought a lot to the table in terms of her chemistry with Shawn, and the dynamic she developed with Timothy Omundson's Carlton Lassiter. Juliet's friendly, sensitive, and approachable personality made her the perfect contrast to Psych's Lassiter, who could be harsh, unfeeling, and aloof.

The character of Juliet created a number of memorable moments through her interactions with many of the characters - particularly Shawn and Lassiter - and none of them would have been possible if Anne Dudek stayed in the role of Lassiter's partner after the Psych pilot.

What Happened To Lucinda Barry In Psych

Season 7 Gave Lucinda Barry A Nod

The reason for Lucinda Barry's departure after Psych's pilot given within the show was her affair with Lassiter, which was, of course, against department protocol. Since Shawn had exposed them, Anne Dudek's Psych character had to be transferred. Juliet made a comment about this early in Psych season 1 by letting Lassiter know that their relationship would be different, and Lassie's affair would be joked about by the fake psychic Shawn later in the series.

While this was never explained or explicitly mentioned, it seems that Lucinda Barry died sometime after Psych's pilot. In Psych's season 7 premiere episode "Santabarbaratown 2," Shawn and Gus go to the firing range and see that Lassiter has won an award for the "Lucinda Barry Memorial Tournament." It's something of an Easter egg for fans who had seen the pilot episode.

What Anne Dudek Has Done Since Psych Ended

Anne Dudek Is A Prolific TV Actress

Following her appearance in the Psych pilot episode, Anne Dudek has continued a long and impressive resume on television. While she’s often appeared in guest roles for an episode or two in numerous series, she’s also had several long-term roles. One of them was on the same network on which Psych aired.

During the early 2000s when Psych aired regularly on USA, the network featured a lot of shows that centered on crime (Psych, White Collar) or espionage (Burn Notice, Covert Affairs) that didn’t exactly fit with the typical procedurals airing on network television. Dudek appeared in one of those TV hidden gems, Covert Affairs, playing the sister of Piper Perabo’s main character, who was a spy.

Dudek played the one character who was allowed to know her sister worked for the CIA, though that wasn’t revealed right away, and the role was drastically different from her role in the Psych pilot. For a long time, that was her best known role purely because she played the part for two years and many of her other TV roles at the time were guest spots.

Since Covert Affairs ended in 2014, Dudek has gone on to a number of memorable TV roles. She had recurring roles in The Magicians, Mad Men, and The Flash, allowing her to try her hand at very different television genres. More recently, the former Psych actress appeared in the mini-series Gaslit and Manhunt.