Fans of Monk have reunited with their favorite sleuth thanks to the Peacock movie Mr. Monk's Last Case. The film brings back all of the TV show's core cast for a new mystery written by series creator Andy Breckman. But it's not a straightforward reunion project; it's a drama more than a comedy, and very timely as it digs into Adrian Monk's life during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

CBR spoke with Breckman and star/producer Tony Shalhoub about why they returned to Monk, and why it was important to them that the pandemic was a prominent part of Mr. Monk's Last Case. They also discussed the cast member they coaxed out of retirement, the addition of James Purefoy as Monk's latest nemesis, and their favorite callbacks to the TV series.

CBR: This isn't the first Monk movie that's been in development. Andy, you were working on one called Mr. Monk for Mayor after the TV show ended. What does it mean to you to have completed Mr. Monk's Last Case, and why do you think the movie worked now and not back then?

Andy Breckman: I did write a script or even two scripts that for various reasons, never went forward -- budget reasons or schedule reasons. But I think we needed the pandemic to really motivate this project and get it moving forward. The pandemic re-sparked interest in the character; we did a short film during the pandemic ["Monk in Quarantine"] where we revisited the characters.

Yet Monk is a very different character when he's reintroduced in the movie. Tony, how did you feel about playing a significant shift for him, where you're moving away from the comedy into something unequivocally dramatic?

Tony Shalhoub: I'm glad you said that because I really feel that that's the strength of this new movie. We took it to a darker place than we've been used to, but it was necessary. Anybody that followed this series or was a fan of the show, they would assume that the pandemic was very, very hard on Adrian Monk. As hard as it was on everybody, it would have been devastating for him. He's been knocked back on his heels in a big way. I think it was good that we explored darker areas, and I think the writers did a great job of offsetting that with highly comedic moments on the other side to balance [the film] out.

Some of the most entertaining moments in Mr. Monk's Last Case come from the Rick Eden character -- both on his own as a fun villain and in the way he plays off Monk. How would you describe what James Purefoy brought to the project with his portrayal of Rick?

Shalhoub: We were so fortunate to get James. He just nailed this role. He's very mercurial and he's just playful. And he gives you so many different colors. He doesn't just play the kind of mustache-twirling bad guy; he's got this charisma and this charm and humor. He's a really good foil for Monk.

Breckman: I loved [that] there was a sort of veneer [to the Rick Eden character]. He was so condescending toward Monk. He really underestimated Monk, which is so much fun for the viewer, because you're taking down this titan. The character didn't see Monk coming, which I loved.

Around him and Caitlin McGee as Molly Evans, the movie reunites the core Monk cast in Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford and Ted Levine. How rewarding was it to know the entire group was ready and willing to return?

Breckman: When you're getting the band back together, you need the band back together. You need every instrument, [so] it was a very important to us. Luckily, all of our friends and castmates were very enthusiastic and they were available.

Shalhoub: We were able to get everybody into that time slot -- including Hector Elizondo, who plays Dr. Bell, Monk's shrink. Since Monk ended, [he] had retired fairly recently; he was just hanging up his skates and done acting. We had to kind of sweet-talk him into coming back to join us.

Mr. Monk's Last Case includes a lot of callbacks to jokes from or major moments in the Monk series. How important was it for you to maintain that sense of history, and were there any bits you particularly loved going back to?

Breckman: When you're writing a movie like this after 14 years, you have to service your hardcore fan base. I call them Monkaholics. And so mentioning the Randy Disher Project and certain catchphrases, we knew we had to at least touch on those.

Shalhoub: I liked the scene we did where Monk is at the door and the pharmacy delivery kid is there. Monk can't bring himself to give him the $20 tip because we established in the series that Monk was so cheap. (laughs) We revisit that idea and play it out way beyond [the show].

All of these aspects create a sense of familiarity, but were there any challenges in coming back to this character and this universe beyond incorporating the COVID-19 pandemic?

Breckman: The pandemic made the Monk story very urgent and brought it into people's lives. Made it very real. And so the timing was perfect.

Shalhoub: For me, the biggest challenge as a producer, and playing Monk, is we all wanted to surpass what we had done before. We wanted to, for lack of a better word, beat where we ended up in that two-part [Monk] finale in Season 8 -- raise the bar and raise the level and outdo what we had done. And so we really had to work hard, because we were also proud of that finale. It had great viewership; the numbers were through the roof. But we fought to beat that, and I feel like we really succeeded there.

Mr. Monk's Last Case is now streaming on Peacock, along with the complete series of Monk.