2009

USA has a winner in "Psych," the quick-witted and fast-paced buddy sleuth dramedy that takes James Roday and Dulé Hill on a weekly adventure, along with veteran actor Corbin Bernsen.

The show returns tonight, Friday, August 7, 2009 at 10/9c for its fourth season on USA Network.  
   
Tonight the crime fighters Shawn and Gus save an old western town from a corporate take-over which ends with an old fashioned showdown and prove an exorcism may not be the only way to exorcise a demon. 

On the personal side, Shawn and his girlfriend Abigail's (Cook) relationship grows and Shawn has to adjust to being in a relationship. 

According to USA, in the premiere episode, “Extradition: British Columbia,” Shawn and Gus outwit a notorious international art thief, Despereux (Cary Elwes), and when they travel to the ski slopes of Vancouver, they discover that he’s not an art thief but an insurance scam artist.

The fourth season guest stars include Cary Elwes,  James Brolin and Sendhil Ramamurthy plus a return appearance by Rachael Leigh Cook.

The show premise is about the adventures of young police consultant, Shawn Spencer (Roday), who solves crimes with powers of observation so acute the precinct detectives think he's psychic – at least that’s what he lets them believe.  Spencer is joined by his best friend and reluctant sidekick, Gus, and his disapproving father (Bernsen), who ironically was the one who honed his son's "observation" skills as a child.  Also featured are Timothy Omundson (“Judging Amy,” “Deadwood”), Maggie Lawson (“Crumbs,” “Inside Schwartz”) and Kirsten Nelson (“Everwood”). 

Show stars James Roday and Dulé Hill took time out to dish on the new season.

James, you played along with Maggie Lawson in the "Fear Itself" series and Mr. Dulé you had a wonderful part on West Wing for a while.  So how do you feel now about playing comedy? 

D. Hill I actually enjoy comedy; it’s a lot of fun.  After doing seven years of drama on West Wing to be able to come and work with Roday and the rest of the cast has been a blast.  It’s something different, especially working with Roday where he likes to improv a lot it challenges me to work on different muscles that I haven’t used before.

J. Roday Well, first of all I just want to thank you for reminding me that I did in fact appear in Fear Itself; I often forget that.  Secondly, I would say I’ve actually done a lot more comedy than I’ve done drama.  It’s weird the way that worked out, because when I came out of theater school I took myself way too seriously, so it’s kind of ironic that I ended up sort of going down the comedy path. 

But I think what makes this role special compared to some of the other stuff that I’ve done is just the fact that I’ve had the opportunity to live with it so long and sort of watch it sort of grow and nurture it, not unlike you nurture a plant.  And working with a great group and an unbelievable cast and sort of having the freedom to do what we do on the show sort of sets it apart from any role that I’ve played, comedy or drama.  It’s just been a special ride.  It’s been a special ride.

The show is known a lot for its kind of fast-paced banter between your characters Shawn and Gus.  How much of a say do you guys get in what goes on in the dialog, particularly between the humorous segments and something like the nicknames that Shawn makes up for Gus?  What goes on with those types of moments?

J. Roday Unlike, I think, the majority of shows on television right now we actually have a frighteningly high amount of say in what we do with the dialog.  A lot of times it comes in great and all we have to do is say it, but any time we sort of recognize an opportunity to throw something in or add something or if we have a better name for Gus than the one that came in we just pull the trigger. 

We’re pretty good at monitoring ourselves so that we only do it if we’re making it better, and it’s very rare that we find out later that the people down in LA were disappointed because we changed something.  They’re usually pretty pleased.

D. Hill Yes.  And the names that we come up with most of the time it has to do with somebody that we know, somebody in the cast knows or somebody that one of the writers knows or a producer, something like that.  I would say pretty much eight times to of ten there is some relation to the crazy name that Gus is being called.

If you could investigate anybody who would it be

D. Hill If I could investigate anybody who would it be?

J. Roday I think I might have to just really roll up my sleeves and investigate Monica Bellucci and just make sure that she’s living her life along the straight and narrow, she’s not cutting any corners in life, in her work; just really get in there and make sure that she’s on the up and up.

D. Hill And from my side I would investigate Halle Bear, who is also Halle Berry.

J. Roday That’s it; this is classy stuff you’re getting from us today.

American Duos has to be my favorite episode.  What was it like working with Tim Curry and the rest of the guest stars?

D. Hill Oh, wow, it was great.  First of all, just the fact that Roday and Tim Curry went into a little back and forth saying, “No.”  You couldn’t really beat that.  You’re working with a comic genius, a great actor, along with Gina Gershon too, it was great.  And then having John Landis direct, as I said before, for myself it was one of the all time great moments for me on Psych.

J. Roday It was a blast of an episode and it was cast perfectly.  It was just one of those things where all the pieces came together and you just sort of sat back and pinched yourself a little bit, because you’re like I can’t believe this is A, happening, and B, like episode one of season two.  So the planets definitely aligned on that one.

Your show’s Twitter feed said they were tired of hearing the same questions over and over again.  Both of you play characters who are more complicated than they first appear, like it would be easy to play Shawn as just this grifting slacker but there’s more to him than that.  What do each of you think is your character’s most difficult trait to capture and what moment in the show has allowed that character element to shine?

J. Roday Well that’s very insightful and thoughtful indeed.  For me I would say the most challenging thing about playing Shawn is the tight wire act between slacker and man child, and then also somebody that you really do want to invest in emotionally and like every week.  And the line between wanting to rub his head and slap his face is very, very, very thin.  And sort of walking that line and always knowing when to stop is sort of the most challenging on a day-to-day basis.

In terms of like a single event that sort of helped me with that I would say probably when we brought Shawn’s mother onto the show, first episode of season three.  Kind of we peeled back a layer that I think by tapping into it has allowed that sort of tight wire act to get a little easier just because you sort of saw a side of him that was way vulnerable that he didn’t have complete control over.  And once we sort of put that out there I think it made things a little bit easier in terms of the balancing act.

D. Hill And then just for myself is one I don’t I guess get too cerebral with my character, so I don’t really think about it like that too often.  I guess when a question comes up it makes me think about it, but in my day-to-day action on the set I don’t really process it I just do it. 

I would say I guess for me it would be that Gus to not make him too nerdy but not make him too cool, because he is a nerd.  But at the same time you want him to be cool also, and I think too far in either direction would change the dynamic of the show.  So it’s always trying to find that balance of cool nerdiness or nerdy coolness or something like that.  That would be my answer to that.

© M & C

What do you get you cross a fake psychic, his best friend, criminal cases and comedy? The TV series "Psych," starring James Roday as Shawn Spencer (a police consultant who pretends to be psychic) and Dulé Hill as Burton "Gus" Guster, Shawn’s sidekick. "Psych" is one of the highest-rated shows on the USA Network, and the series returns for its fourth season August 7 at 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time.

During a recent telephone conference call with journalists, Roday and Hill revealed what viewers can expect from upcoming "Psych" episodes (including some of the guest stars), shared their experiences at this year’s Comic-Con International, and confessed which celebrities make them star-struck.

How do you keep the momentum going into the fourth season?

Hill: Roday, you could take that.

Roday: Well, for me anyway, I kind of felt like Season 3 was sort of a tale of two seasons, really. I kind of felt like we heated up down the stretch on the backend there especially. And that makes it a little easier to keep up the momentum because I kind of felt like we were riding a high going into the hiatus and with, you know, the last batch of episodes that we had shot and everybody was feeling confident and good and didn't want to stop. And I think because of that it’s yielded some pretty strong stuff at the beginning of Season 4. So I do think we've kept up our momentum and I think the end of Season 3 had a lot to do with that.

James, what was your reaction to Shawn walking away from Juliet O’Hara (played by Maggie Lawson)? And how often will we see Rachel Leigh Cook this year?

Roday: Well the actress Maggie Lawson did such a wonderful job playing that scene that I watch it sort of as a fan of the show and feel for her and feel for Shawn. But it’s a marathon, that relationship. I think everybody kind of gets that there’s going to be a lot of going in circles and missed timing and hurdles that have to be cleared in order for something to ever actually happen. And next season, Abigail, Rachel Leigh Cook’s character, is one of those sort of curveballs. We'll be seeing her sporadically over the course of the entire season.

And Dulé how about you? When does your character get a little bit of romance?

Hill: I think it will probably happen the second half of Season 4. It’s been a long time coming, so Gus has a little pent-up energy. I think he'll get to take care of second half of the season.

Dulé, you have such great comedic timing. Is it something you've worked at or is something you find comes natural to you?

Hill: I think it more comes natural to me. I mean, generally I'm someone who likes to have fun and make jokes a lot and act a fool, so I guess it’s something that just comes easy. But then also working with someone like Roday and the rest of the cast you kind of I guess improve on it, day in and day out … I guess my timing has gotten better since Season 1. And it has a lot to do with working with Roday and the great writers who write all this fun stuff to do.

James, you write a number of the episodes. How do you come up with the concepts for them?

Roday: I usually just pick a genre of movie that I feel like saluting and then go off and come up with something that I can sort of pay homage to. That’s the great thing about our show is we've sort of created a landscape for "Psych" where we’re kind of allowed to go off and give shout-outs to movies that we love, genres that we love. So if you look back at my episodes specifically, that’s pretty much what I do. I just sort of decide that I want to go do a slasher or decide [to do] a werewolf episode, and "Psych" is one of those very unique shows on TV where somehow all of those things can work.

Shawn comes up with some creative nicknames for Dulé’s character. How does that idea come about and are we going to be seeing some other names this season?

Hill: Always. There'll be an endless list of new names for Gus as long as the show is ...

Roday: Part of the permanent fabric of the show, I believe. It started off as just an improvisation all the way back in the first episode after the pilot, I believe. And it just really caught on with everybody in the writers’ room and on set. And everyone’s in on the joke now. So, yeah, there'll be plenty of names.

Isn't it time that Gus turns the tables on Shawn and pulls one on him or is he just not quick enough?

Hill: I don't think there’s any question. I mean, he tried to pull one off on Shawn last season[in the "Tuesday the 17th" episode] … And, you know, I guess he got him a little bit, but obviously he wasn't quick enough to get him completely. So I don't know, maybe he'll try something again; if not this season, next year. That’s a good question, whether he’s quick enough or not. He'll make a valiant effort but most likely Shawn will eventually figure it out.

How important the mystery element of the show is to the two of you? Would you sacrifice a few good jokes to have the mystery plot really work or is it most important to make the show funny?

Roday: I think there’s a couple different camps on that one. I think we would probably fall into the camp of "No, never sacrifice a good joke to make the mystery better." And then there are people at our network — and one of our executive producers in particular — who would probably disagree and say, "You know, you can always spare comedy on this show and that we need to have good cases …" But, I don't know. We got a kind of an eye-opening experience this weekend at Comic-Con and so we got to come face to face with some of our fans. And I feel like the majority of them are tuning in to watch us act like fools, not solve a mystery.

Hill: And then from my side, I think there should be a balance. And I think the show is first and foremost a comedy and people tune in to laugh every week. But I think you have to have balance because if you don't have any balance then obviously, I think it’s possible to have overkill. Like if you have a joke on top of a joke on top of a joke on top of a joke, then it may not ...

Roday: Then you have four jokes back on top of each other.

Hill: It could be a little overkill so I think you have to find balance. And I think that’s always the challenge with this show is: making people laugh but also keeping people engaged in what’s going on and taking them along a journey.

The bantering you guys do in the show is so great. Is that always directly from the script or is there some room for you guys to ad lib a little bit?

Hill: There’s room to ad lib, so the simple answer would be, "No, it’s not all directly from the script." Most of the ad-libbing I'd say comes from Roday, and then it’s me just keeping up with him at that point. And then we see where it goes.

Roday: We’re pretty lucky in that we have a pretty long leash on our show. There’s a lot of room to sort of play around and maneuver. And sometimes that’s how we find our best stuff. And sometimes that’s how we find our worst stuff.

How do you feel about "The Mentalist" TV series being such a big hit and being close to what you guys are doing on "Psych"?

Roday: I think it’s flattering. We make jokes about it, because it’s silly and that’s what we do. And we make jokes about everything. But, you know, the truth of the matter is, we've been around long enough to sort of become somebody else’s derivative — and that’s a good thing.

You mentioned Comic-Con. Have you been surprised by any of the people that are fans and are you kind of overwhelmed by the crazy amounts of nerdiness going on there?

Hill: I think for myself I was just surprised that the place was packed out. I mean, I wasn't necessarily surprised [by] the type of fans. I think we have such a wide variety of fans for the show that if someone says that they’re a fan of the show, it doesn't really surprise me. But I guess when we went to Comic-Con, the fact that the room was packed at Comic-Con, I was very surprised. It was like I guess like 4,200 or 4,500 people. I was flattered by that.

Roday: It was definitely overwhelming. And it was great to actually be sort of face to face with our fans. We shoot up in Vancouver, and it kind of puts us in a bubble sometimes. And to be able to come down and sort of hang with them and mingle with them a little bit and feel the love, we were blown away. We really were.

Did you guys get a chance to walk around a bit or check out any of the booths at Comic-Con?

Hill: I did not.

Were you afraid to?

Hill: Not that I was afraid, I mean, like we had just finished working [July 22] … and flew out to San Diego [July 23], so I was a little tired. I didn't have the energy. I would like to be able to go back hopefully next year and have some more energy. That way, I could hang out a little bit.

Roday: They had us on a pretty tight schedule. But we still got to see some of the highlights, in terms of what people were walking around as and that was a lot of very, very tight latex bodysuits. And codpieces.

On "Psych," you pretend to be a psychic. Have you ever tried to be someone in a certain profession to pick up on a girl or anything like that?

Roday: Have I ever pretended to be something? I think back in college I think I might have told a girl that I was a professional tennis player once. And then, of course, she had never heard of me so I had to dig deeper. "I'm just sort of on the playing satellites. You know, I'm kind of working my way up. I'm not ranked in the top 100 or anything." You just sort of find yourself going, "Wow I can't believe I'm doing this right now." [It was] supposed to be a pickup line and now I’m making up an entire life.

Did it work with the girl?

Roday: If I recall correctly, it did work out. It did work out, but it was a lot of work for a brief dalliance.

Can you tell us any highlights of working on the fourth-season opener?

Hill: Carey Elwes, to keep it simple.

Roday: And we finally get to shoot Vancouver for Vancouver so we didn't have to [hide] every sign and make sure that you couldn't see it.

Hill: Carey Elwes … was great. You’re getting to work with someone who’s a real talent and is prolific at what they do, so I just really enjoyed it.

Roday: And I got to see Dulé on skis.

Hill: That’s right. Actually, that is the first time I've ever been on skis. Yeah, so I actually went down a small little hill while we were filming. That was my first experience there, so that was good too. It was actually fun except when I was trying to make at turn near the end that got a little scary. But now, mind you, it was a very small hill so there was no reason for me to be scared. I was concerned about losing control.

In Season 4, have your characters perhaps grown and developed? And have there been any acting challenges that have gone along with that?

Roday: I think Shawn and Gus, they’re both works in progress. I mean, they’re both sort of overgrown kids. But, yeah, I think Shawn is trying to be in a relationship, and that’s new. You know, the idea of maturing but not really maturing is kind of a tight-wire act. But, you know, we do our best to sort of continue to peel back layers of these guys. We have one episode coming up that actually gets pretty serious. My character gets shot, and that was kind of interesting. I was separated from the rest of the cast for the first time the way the story is told; we’re sort of broken into three groups.

And it was interesting because we each got to work with people that we don't necessarily usually work with and we were all kind of separated for most of the episode. And that was challenging and different. Hey, [if] you’re in Season 4 of a show and can still come up with something that is completely different, that’s saying something.

Dulé, how about you and your character?

Hill: I can't believe I've had any real challenges this season. I would be lying if I did. We'll see what the second half of the season brings but I've been [in a] pretty set formula for Gus … so I kind of got in a little groove.

The previous season delivered a lot more emotional stuff. Is there a theme for Season 4 on "Psych"?

Roday: Well to sort of go back to my answer to the very first question, I kind of feel like it took us a while to start delivering that. I feel like we sort of had to find our footing. We were going for a whole bunch of stuff we'd never done before. And I feel like once we caught our groove … I feel like it was sort of the second half. And so this [fourth] season is mostly about the challenge of maintaining what we achieved down the stretch last season when it all started to sort of work on all cylinders. So no big impressive mantras this year; just an optimistic promise that we can keep delivering more of the same.

Hill: Yeah and I think it’s just trying to complete the package [and] keep it going.

Can you talk about any of upcoming guest stars?

Hill: We have Christine Baranski.

Roday: Yeah, Christine Baranski, Michael Rooker ...

Hill: Michael Rooker, James Brolin ...

Roday: James Brolin, John Hawkes...

Hill: Sendhil Ramamurthy...

Roday: Sendhil Ramamurthy from "Heroes" ...

Hill: Yeah, all the ladies even and some men were gushing while he was on the street. And we have Ray Wise. You can't forget Ray Wise.

Roday: The incomparable Ray Wise.

Hill: And then we had Josh Malina.

Is there anybody you guys want to work with but haven't been able to get on the show yet?

Roday: I've decided my answer to that question is going to be David Bowie until we get him on. So I feel like I'll be saying David Bowie for a while.

Hill: For myself it’s Martin Sheen and David Alan Grier.

Bowie did the movie "Bandslam," so you might be able to get him.

Roday: We’re going to keep trying, man. We’re never going to say never, that’s for sure.

And Dulé, have you broached the subject with Martin Sheen?

Hill: Yeah, we've tried for a few different episodes. He just hasn't been able to work out yet. And he does want to do the show [and it’s] just finding the right character for him to play.

Can you talk about the chemistry you have with your co-stars and guest stars?

Hill: I think [it’s about] when people come up and they’re enthusiastic about coming because on the set everyone has a great time. I think when they come up there and they see how much fun we’re having and what a pleasure it is to work on the show, they just fall right in and start enjoying themselves. I think that translates to the screen. I mean, you never really know, but that would be my guesstimate.

Did the two of you instantly click in terms when you first started the show?

Roday: I think we’re always fine-tuning it. I mean, we got very lucky in that we found that it came pretty easily— and so like peanut butter and chocolate, it’s just like, "Oh wow, these two things taste really good together." And then the longer we get to spend with one another, obviously the more nuanced we get. We pick up on each other’s rhythms and we start adding things that are funny to us outside of the job. And the other one helps sell it. I feel like it’s just going to keep better and better the longer that we have.

What surprises can fans expect?

Hill: There’s a big, big, big one.

Roday: We do have one sort of pretty big guest star surprise up our sleeves. That you'll have to wait a little bit for, because I don't think it'll come around until the winter in the second half. But it’s pretty big.

Besides something like Comic-Con, how do you normally get in contact with your fans? Do you go online?

Hill: I don't. I mean like we had a man from [the] USA [network] who was Tweeting from Comic-Con, so that was good to be able to answer questions right there and talk to the fans at that point. But we’re in Vancouver, we’re working so many hours ... We just go to work and go home.

Roday: Yeah.

Hill: Be ready for the next day, you know?

Roday: I did an interview not too long ago where instead of the interviewer asking questions he basically just compiled 20 questions from fans, which I thought was a really interesting approach to an interview. And it was great. And I had a blast answering their questions, each one individually because, there was like a name and where they were from. And I thought that was awesome.

Who were some of your early I guess comedic influences as you were growing up?

Hill: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin. Like I love Steve Martin, Joe Piscopo, the whole "Saturday Night Live" crew. I mean I just love laughing and I love making people laugh so all those people who make me laugh.

Roday: I would add Chevy Chase to that list and for me, personally, Val Kilmer in "Top Secret!" and "Real Genius."

Do the two of you still get star-struck?

Roday: I get star-struck anytime I meet performers that I grew up watching and appreciating. I mean, it’s still incredibly surreal to me that I was a kid in San Antonio watching movies and then now I'm working with some of the people that were in those movies. I don't think it'll ever stop being surreal on some level.

And I also get tongue-tied and freaked out when I meet athletes, too. We’re so lucky to be able to do what we do. And then on top of that, you find yourself in situations where you’re meeting people that you sort of looked up to, that you were inspired by. It’s special and, yes, I will always be star-struck and it'll always be a little bit weird, but it’s also fantastic.

Hill: And just adding for myself, I mean, most of the time I'm pretty laid-back and pretty cool with meeting people. The only person that I think I would really geek out over is Joe Montana. It’s kind of random, I know, but if I could meet Joe Montana and he could throw me one football pass, I would be to the moon.

What did it take to get you out of San Antonio and pursue that dream?

Roday: A lot of intention, fortitude. There was no precedent in my family or among anyone I knew that had happened. So I pretty much just had to pack a bag and say, "I'm going to New York, whether you guys like it or not, and hopefully I'm not back here anytime soon on the doorstep with my tail between my legs." And luckily it worked out for me.

Can you talk about your stage experiences?

Roday: Dulé started when he was … what were you?

Hill: I was 10.

Roday: I did nothing but theater until I guess '99. I was all the way through college the first time that I had stepped in front of a camera. And it’s weird; it’s definitely a transition.

But acting is like is a love affair, right? You fell in love with it.

Roday: It is, it is.

Hill: Oh yeah, I love it. Television, film and stage: love it all.

© Examiner

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