The Decision That Saved Monk Avoided A Huge Problem And Made Sure The Show Would Continue For 5 More Years

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Monk

Bitty Schram left Monk during season 3, and the way the series handled Sharona’s exit arguably saved the show and made sure it would continue for five more seasons despite losing one of its best characters. Even though Sharona was only in three out of the eight seasons of Monk, she remained an integral part of the show’s legacy. The fact that Sharona’s absence was felt during Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie shows how important the character is to the world of Monk, which is why replacing her was such a difficult task.

Monk’s core cast of characters didn’t change much throughout the show. Apart from Natalie (Traylor Howard) replacing Sharona, the only other significant change in the cast of Monk was Dr. Héctor Elizondo’s Neven Bell replacing Stanley Kamel’s Dr. Kroger following Kamel’s passing in April 2008. While Schram would reprise her role as Sharona for a season 8 episode, Natalie became Monk’s assistant from season 3 onward.

Monk Didn’t Try To Create Another Sharona (& Gave Us Natalie Instead)

Natalie Was Nothing Like Sharona

Monk made a conscious decision not to try to create a “new Sharona.” Firstly, the show chose not to recast Sharona, which itself was a great decision considering that Schram had already played the character for three seasons. However, Adrian would need a new assistant eventually, not to mention how Monk having a sidekick – his “Watson” – was essential for the character to work. This is why Monk would have to find a replacement for Sharona sooner or later.

Sharona returned in season 8, episode 10, "Mr. Monk and Sharona."

However, simply trying to recreate Sharona with a different character would have been disastrous. Comparisons between Monk’s new assistant and Sharona were going to be inevitable no matter what, but having a “new Sharona” would have only made it worse. Fortunately, Natalie could not have been more different from her predecessor. The relationship between Adrian and Natalie was so different from how Sharona treated Monk that we quickly forgot one was supposed to be replacing the other. Natalie became her own character instead of a Sharona replacement.

Monk’s Replacement For Sharona Avoided What Could’ve Been A Big Problem

Sharona’s Replacement Not Working Would’ve Ruined The Show

Sharona (Bitty Schram) and Natalie clash in Mr Monk and Sharona

Replacing what was arguably the most important character on the show after Shalhoub's Adrian Monk three seasons in could have ended in disaster. Plenty of shows failed to replace or recast a beloved character and suffered from it, with some even being canceled after struggling to recapture the magic of previous seasons. Something similar could have happened to Monk had the show not nailed its replacement for Sharona.

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Had Natalie’s character not been well-received, it’s difficult to imagine how Monk would have run for five more seasons like it did. Not only did Natalie’s character work surprisingly well, but she also fit in with the rest of the characters very quickly. Only a few episodes after her introduction, it felt like Natalie had been there the whole time. Sharona’s exit was disappointing, but Monk found the perfect replacement in Natalie.

Starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, Monk follows the titular detective, a private investigator with OCD who helps solve crimes with the San Francisco Police. On the side, he also investigates the death of his wife, who was killed by a car bomb. Bitty Schram, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford also star.

Release Date July 12, 2002

Seasons 8

Network USA

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