The beloved detective seriesMonk, which starred Tony Shalhoub as a brilliant detective, surprisingly had a prequel set years beforeMonkbegan.Monkran for seven years, earning its spot as one of the best and most popular comedic detective shows to air. It is best known for Shalhoub’s incredible acting as the lead character intheMonkcast, Adrian Monk, was known to be a tragic yet comedic figure.
In severalMonkepisodes, Monk often spoke about his life before he became a police officer, and the prequel offered a closer look at what Monk referred to. The prequel, which was calledLittle Monk, offered glimpses of Monk’s life before he met Trudy.Little Monkaired side-by-side withMonkduringMonk’s last season in 2009. WhileMonkwas widely popular,Little Monkwas not as well-known and never reached the same popularity.
Little Monk Was A Monk Webseries Featuring Adrian As A Child
The Short Series Looks At Monk’s Childhood
Little Monkfocused on Adrian’s life as a child as he and his brother, Ambrose, solved mysteries together. The show aired on the USA Network’s website in 2009. The webseries is fairly short as it only lasted for one season.The prequel was directed byMonk’s director, Randall Zisk, and starred Aaron Linker as Adrian Monk. The premise forLittle Monklikely grew out of theMonkepisode “Mr. Monk and Little Monk,” which features a young Monk as he tries to right a wrong when his crush is framed for theft.
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Little Monkgave a closer look at how some of Monk’s habits developed over the years and offered an introduction to Monk’s interest in detective work.Linker’s portrayal of Monk is significantly different from Shalhoub’s, but it makes sense, seeing as the prequel is set a long time before Monk’s nervous breakdown. Trudy’s death, which happens between the two shows, is what triggered Monk’s breakdown and turned him into the character that Shalhoub plays inMonk.
Little Monk’s Premise Didn’t Really Make Sense
Little Monk Relied On Ignoring One Major Monk Concept
While an interesting concept,Little Monkdid not work in reality. Monk became the character that he is presently known for after Trudy’s death. To show that Monk has always been the way he is inLittle MonkunderminesMonk’s entire basis.The prequel tried to replicate too much of Monk’s characterinMonk, which came across as an odd move given how much of Monk’s personality is dictated by his reaction to Trudy’s murder.
Monk has always been a bit different as a result of his family life, andLittle Monkdoes attempt to portray this
To be fair, Monk did show signs of OCD as a child, and he has always had a complicated relationship with his family, which was portrayed inLittle Monkas well. However,the premise forLittle Monklies entirely in ignoring the biggest part of his origin story,despite being a prequel. Monk has always been a bit different as a result of his family life, andLittle Monkdoes attempt to portray this, but it still seemed like the show was trying to be aMonkreplacement rather than feature an original idea.
Monk
Cast
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.
