San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
S.A. native’s ‘Psych 2’ helps launch NBC’s streaming service Peacock
Of the nine new shows debuting on NBC’s Peacock streaming service, which launches Wednesday, a visually stunning adaptation of “Brave New World” is getting the most buzz. But anyone familiar with its source material, Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel, knows not to expect a mood elevator.
If that’s what you’re looking for, another original show may be just what the doctor ordered during these anxiety-ridden times.
“Psych 2: Lassie Come Home” is an uproariously silly, feel-good mystery. It’s the second film spun off of the long-running USA network buddy crime romp “Psych.”
San Antonio native James Roday, the series’ star, helped write and produce “Psych 2.”
During a phone chat, the Taft High School graduate prescribed it as a tonic for flagging spirits.
“Right now more than ever, it’s important to take care of ourselves, take care of our brains,” Roday said in a call from his L.A. home, where he’s been sequestering during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This means shutting off our computers, not looking at our phones, not turning on the news, just taking a break, giving ourselves a chance to reboot.
“That’s always been what we’ve hoped ‘Psych’ is good for. If we can give people anything right now, it’s an hour-and-a-half of shut your brain down. Laugh. It’s OK to do that because the world isn’t going anywhere; the craziness that’s happening isn’t going anywhere, either.”
“Psych 2: Lassie Come Home” returns most of the series’ staples to their original roles and is largely written and executive produced by the series’ creator,
Steve Franks. It is one of nine Peacock originals geared to a variety of ages and tastes.
Among them are a conspiracy thriller from England that quickly becomes addictive and a new workplace comedy with a “30 Rock” vibe that stars David Schwimmer of “Friends.”
The original shows are just part of Peacock’s offerings, which are available via three tiers — one of them free.
Without paying a penny, viewers will have access to more than 7,500 hours of entertainment: movies, including blockbusters such as “Jurassic Park” and
“E.T”; TV classics such as “Frasier”; and timely programming across news, sports, reality and late night.
To watch Peacock originals — the nine new shows at launch plus goodies in the works such as a planned reboot of sci-fi hit “Battlestar Galactica” from “Mr. Robot” visionary Sam Esmail — viewers will have to pay for one of two premium tiers.
The less expensive choice is ad-supported and costs $4.99 a month. Pay $5 more — $9.99 a month — to eliminate the ads.
Premium subscribers also get twice the amount of programming — additional TV titles such as “Parks and Recreation,” “The Affair” and, yes, “Psych,” and more movies, including the “Fast & Furious” franchise — as well as next-day access to current NBC and Telemundo series.
Future originals in development include revivals of “Saved by the Bell” and “Punky Brewster,” as well as a new comedy from Mindy Kaling, called “Expecting” about a single woman who, before turning 39, asks her gay best friend to be her sperm donor.
“Peacock offers something for everyone, offering content that ranges from TV-Y shows like ‘Punky Brewster’ and ‘Curious George’ to TV-MA shows like ‘Brave New World’ and ‘The Capture,’ ” Bill McGoldrick, Peacock president of original content, said via email.
Peacock will be available online at peacocktv.com and on mobile and connected-TV devices, including Apple TV and Microsoft Xbox. However, like HBO Max, it’s yet to sign with popular streaming devices Roku and Amazon Fire Stick.
Roday said he’s thankful that “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home,” a passion project shot more than a year ago in Vancouver, was completed in time for the streaming service’s launch.
In it, Shawn Spencer (Roday), a faux psychic whose keen powers of observation assist the San Francisco police in solving crimes, is coping with the demands of married life with police detective Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson). His closest buddy and reluctant co-sleuth, “Gus” Guster (Dulé Hill), also is adjusting to a serious relationship.
But this doesn’t stop the two men from doing what they do best — embracing their inner kids. A signature strength of the series has always been the pair’s playful chemistry, their rat-a-tat banter packed with fun insults and comedic one-liners.
That’s on full display in the new “Psych” movie, as are the pop culture references that were another familiar element of the series. Nothing is sacred, from “Star Wars” to cat cafes.
In the past, Roday said, “Psych’s” references seemed “to be from obscurity,” things from 20 to 30 years ago.
“In this one, we took swings at stuff that’s a lot more current and zeitgeisty,” he said. “We even made a ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ reference, which was pretty bold.”
The main motivation behind “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home,” however, was the long-awaited return of Tim Omundson to the role of Carlton Lassiter, who’s now the Santa Barbara police chief.
Omundson suffered a massive stroke in 2017 at the age of 37. He was still struggling through recovery when the first “Psych” movie was made.
He appeared in a brief scene shot off set, but the cameo was far from what Roday had envisioned for his friend and co-star.
“Without him, we couldn’t go out on a note that had the whole gang together,” he said.
“When everyone heard Tim was coming (for the second movie), people turned down other jobs to become part of it. The first day he walked out on set, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
The movie really belongs to Lassiter — the Lassie of the title — who is shot and left for dead during an ambush on the job.
While resting in a rehab center, he begins to see weird things happening around him, including his deceased dad ( Joel McHale), and finds it increasingly difficult to distinguish between dreams and reality.
Enter Shawn and Gus, who, as usual, roil the cantankerous Lassiter with their hijinks. They do their best, however, to untangle the twisted mystery of the shooting, along with other, more personal, dilemmas.
As for the dilemmas facing all of us in the real world — the isolation, limitations and inevitable setbacks that have been brought on by COVID-19 — Roday counts himself one of the lucky ones.
“I’ve stayed healthy; my folks have been able to dodge it,” he said. “It also has been a forced mental vacation, made me slow down, something I’m not very good at.”
The second season of his current ABC drama “A Million Little Things” wrapped before the pandemic hit the industry and halted production.
A longtime sports fan, and Spurs fan in particular, Roday said he has had to compensate for the dearth of live games by watching old grand-slam tennis finals on TV.
“I even found myself viewing an episode of professional cornhole the other day,” he said.
Another silver lining to Roday’s time at home came on four feet.
For a year and a half, he explained, he he had grieved over the loss of Franc, his beloved dog of 10 years.
“He had a wonderful run for a mastiff … was with me through thick and thin,” he said. “But just recently because of this quarantine, I thought, ‘Here’s something I can do during this unusual, unprecedented time. I can rescue a dog.’
“And I did. His name is Claude, another French mastiff. A big, ginger boy, he still has a lot of baby energy. He’s just the goofiest sweetest love bug you can imagine.”
Roday even had a mask made with Claude’s mug on it. “Now, when I walk him around the neighborhood, he’s not just on the leash, he’s on my face.”