USA Network Exec Says PSYCH Characters May Return in Movie

Although the long-running cable-TV series "Psych" will come to an end March 26, that may not be the last that audiences see of fictional best friends Shawn Spencer and Burton "Gus" Guster, the president of usa network said Monday night.

Chris McCumber said the lead characters of the comedy, which was launched on the cable network in 2006, may appear in a movie or a special in the future.

The actors who play Shawn and Gus, James Roday and Dulé Hill, respectively, discussed the show at the Paley Center for Media in New York after McCumber's brief introduction.

Hill, who is performing in the musical "After Midnight," his third Broadway show, also appeared on the NBC show "The West Wing" from 1999 to 2006.

Roday, who graduated from New York University, where he studied theater, said "Psych" was his first major role. He has been cast in a new CBS pilot called "Good Session" and is promoting a movie "Gravy," which he wrote and directed.

McCumber, who previously was USA's marketing chief, said he laughed as soon as he read the three words on the title page of the first "Psych" script: "Fake Psychic Detective." The show, created by Steve Franks, "helped built usa network into what it is today."

Producer Andy Berman, who spoke via Skype, said the entire last season has been "really a love letter to 'Psych.' "

And he introduced the next episode, which Roday directed and co-wrote, called "A Nightmare on State Street," during which Gus undergoes dream therapy and sees zombies wherever he goes. "Psych" has become well-known for such genre spoofs, including one of the 1990 cult favorite TV series "Twin Peaks."

Avid fans of the series, called Psych-O's, were asked to vote on the storyline for the episode, and "Nightmare" received more than half of the votes.

A discussion with Roday and Hill followed the screening and was moderated by 1980s "Brat Pack" movie star Ally Sheedy, who played a serial killer on four episodes of "Psych," including the two-hour "Psych: The Musical," which aired in December.

Asked which storylines they wanted but did not have a chance to do on "Psych," Roday replied, "We tried to send Shawn and Gus to space." Franks had suggested a time travel plot but that was never done either, he added.

Both actors said they enjoyed interaction with fans, but Hill said the best experiences were having fans visit the set through the Make-a-Wish program. "We get to meet her (the child's) family" and "We can actually hear everything," without fans screaming, he added.

Asked to name their favorite guest stars, Roday mentioned Jimmi Simpson and Tim Curry, while Hill said he was impressed by how hard William Shatner worked on the show.

Hill said he always wanted Martin Sheen and Allison Janney, both from "The West Wing," to be guest stars but that did not happen.

Looking back on the entire "Psych" experience, Hill said, "I don't think I ever laughed so much on a job. For eight years, I went to work and laughed all day."

Shooting the series in Vancouver, Canada, rather than Los Angeles, meant that the cast and crew had more opportunities to interact. "We would hang out on weekends with the crew and crack each other up," Hill said.

Sheedy said, "It really did feel like a family up there."