My wife Daphne and I started watching the TV series Monk on Netflix around Christmas on last year. Tonight we will watch the two part finale, finishing the eight seasons of the USA Network show, and we're very sad to be done.
We've wondered aloud on several occasions why we never watched Monk when it originally aired. We've also wondered what show would replace Monk for us when we we finally finished it. I like USA's similar series Psych as well as their new San Francisco show Fairly Legal. But neither could really fill the void for us.
So, I was curious as to what Monk's writer/creator Andy Breckman would do next and was happy to find that he's created a show called Uncle Nigel. It was picked up by TBS and is indeed an hour-long comedy about a detective! Monk director Randy Zisk is also attached.
The show centers around Nigel Wells (Gary Cole), a Philadelphia homicide detective who hires his incompetent nephew Ronnie as a partner. Cole is always brilliant -- whether as the creepy guy (who was maybe Satan) in American Gothic, as Mike Brady in the Brady Bunch films, as Lumbergh from Office Space, as Ricky Bobby's dad, or any number of other memorable characters.
Many actors auditioned for Ronnie (EW has a wishlist here), but the job went to Matt L. Jones. I absolutely love this idea because Matt was so good as Badger on Breaking Bad.
Ethan S. Smith (below) may not have grabbed the role of Ronnie, but if this audition is any indication, the show could be pretty good.
TBS.com has no info for Uncle Nigel and I've yet to find a firm release date elsewhere. The news of the show's pilot came over a year ago, but these things take time. With a pedigree of the folks listed above as well as cast members such as Lea Thompson, we can stay optimistic I'm hoping to see Nigel and Ronnie Wells sometime soon.
