From the very first episode of Psych, it’s clear that this 2006 American comedy isn’t your standard detective drama.

Psych is less about crimes themselves, and more about the fun of solving them. The series is best known for its running gags, snappy humour, and lovable characters—the foremost being Shawn Spencer, the protagonist. Shawn plays off his excellent observation skills as “psychic powers”, landing him a job as psychic consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department.

All 120 episodes follow a different case, from the murder of a spelling-bee judge to the schemes of an international art thief. Part of the show’s charm is that each crime is as absurd as the last. Psych never gets monotonous, and it rarely gets heavy. Even the most gruesome crimes have a fun and campy bent.

Our protagonist follows suit. If Shawn is anything, he is theatrical – unhindered, over-the-top, whip-smart while also being a slacker (much to the chagrin of his hard-nosed father). When Shawn is hit by a ”psychic message”, he makes a scene, his arms flailing, his eyes darting around as if receiving otherworldly messages. Everyone around Shawn is either unamused or impressed. Often both.

No one has to tolerate Shawn more than Gus, his lifelong best friend, who works as a pharmaceutical salesman alongside running the pair’s police consulting agency Psych. Gus is as tight-laced as Shawn is laidback. Shawn calls Gus by nicknames: Gus “Silly-Pants” Jackson. Fearless Guster. Shmuel Cohen. Methuselah Honeysuckle. Shutterfly Simmons. They’re opposites, but they balance each other perfectly; they’re a great duo on screen.

At its heart, Psych is a spoof of the detective dramas popular in the 2000s. But in poking fun at cliché, Psych has also managed to stand on its own, proof that even campy fun can deliver great moments of sentiment and suspense.

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