Psych is one of my all-time favorite TV shows, and one of the only shows that my entire family will watch together. We love it so much that when it was taken off of Netflix a while back, we bought all eight seasons on DVD. (Don’t worry, Psych is now on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, and Apple TV.) The show follows the antics of Shawn Spencer, who is hyper-observant and pretends to be psychic while working with the local police department to solve crimes. His partner in his business, called Psych, is his childhood best friend Gus. To give you an idea of what the show is about, picture grown men acting like children but somehow figuring things out along the way. If that hasn’t sold you, here are some reasons why I think you should watch Psych the next time you’re bored or trying to avoid your responsibilities:
1. Incomparable banter
If Shawn and Gus aren’t looking for food or annoying the detectives at the police station, they’re arguing with each other about the most inconsequential and sometimes just asinine things, like if “thrice” means three times or half, or if it’s really “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Marzipan.”
2. Gus’s Ridiculous (Amazing) Nicknames
Shawn’s partner Gus – whose full name is Burton Guster – is almost never introduced by his real name. Instead, he goes by a random nickname that Shawn comes up with, which, upon further consideration, may actually be smart when conversing with a dangerous criminal.
3. Detective Lassiter
This man is an enigma that you don’t want to like, but you definitely do. His thinly veiled distaste for Shawn’s general existence is always hilarious, and his partnership with Detective Juliet O’hara is just amazing. Also, he has some fantastic character development.
4. Obscure references to movies I’ve never seen
Do I understand what Shawn and Gus are talking about when they debate about which characters in some random 80’s movie they are? Absolutely not. But it is definitely fun to watch.
5. The theme song
“I know, you know” by The Friendly Indians has absolutely no business being that good of a song. As someone who loves a good TV theme song and hates not as many shows have them today, this intro song is top tier. It’s mandatory to sing along every time.
6. The musical
Yes, there is a musical (and two Psych movies). Worth it just to hear the cast sing.
Well, now I want to watch Psych. And in case you were looking for some episode recommendations, of course, I would say to watch chronologically, but some of my favorites are Spelling Bee (S1 E2), American Duos (S2 E1), The Old and the Restless (S2 E12) and Last Night Gus (S6 E2).
Happy watching!