"The Psychologists Are In" Podcast: The Psych-Os Are In Charge And That's A Good Thing!

 Re-watch podcasts have been around the podcasting world since podcasters still used mp3 files and listeners used an iPod and a Microsoft Zune to listen. 

Classic Star Trek, Games Of Thrones, Sleepy Hollow, and The Sopranos are just a few of the defunct TV shows that still fascinate fans enough to verbally flyspeck each episode. 

Currently, Our Show, a re-watch podcast about the 2011-2018 Fox TV sitcom  New Girl with some of the cast as hosts, has recently made a splash.

A re-watch podcast needs two vital ingredients. First, a dedicated fan base that maintains a long and torrid love affair with the show, its mythology, its characters, the actors, and the themes of the show. Second, it requires cast members or podcast pros who can host the re-watch show and resuscitate a TV show that only lives in reruns on streaming, broadcast and cable. 

Thankfully, the USA Network TV show, Psych, incorporates all of those ingredients. 

First, the show, which ran from 2006 until 2014 with three TV movies, has nurtured a large and loyal following called, appropriately, Psych-Os. 

Second, the co-hosts of the re-watch podcast called, again appropriately, The Psychologists Are In, are primary actors from the show, Maggie Lawson (Detective Juliet "Jules" O'Hara) and Timothy Omundson (Head Detective Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter)

The show is billed this way: "Each week they'll talk about your favorite episodes, share behind-the-scene stories, incredible memories, and have drop-in visits from their best friends and fellow cast-mates."

 

Finding the right hosts for a re-watch podcast is critical. Too often, professional broadcasters who don't know the show that well sound professional, but struggle due to their lack of connection to the show being re-watched.  Hiring the actual actors from the show with the cult following doesn't always work because TV actors don't always make interesting, coherent, and professional hosts.

Luckily for The Psychologists Are In, the two actors who are the hosts excel at hosting duties. Maggie Lawson, who does the heavy lifting on hosting chores such as ads, show flow, and guest intros, excels at the job. Lawson's bright, cheery voice sets the upbeat tone for the podcast, and she gives "110 percent" on her host-read ads. 

Lawson's voice on the podcast catches a lot of echo and some reverb, but otherwise she's flawless in her role. Lawson welcomes the guests on the podcast with such gusto that you'd think she was born to be in the hospitality industry. She works well with her co-host Timothy Omundson, whose deep, frictionless voice was custom-made for audio. Although Lawson does the hosting heavy lifting here, Omundson contributes through a sharply focused memory, and finely tuned insights.

The re-watch podcast follows a familiar script, with each episode dedicated to reviewing an episode of the show, Psych. Interestingly, the first episode focused on Psych creator and showrunner, Steve Franks.

What makes this re-watch podcast so compelling is the affection the entire crew -- from the actors to the writers and even the network execs -- have for one another.

Through gossip magazines like People and Us and shows like TMZ, TV viewers are often regaled with sordid tales about the making of popular TV shows rife with diva preening, egos run wild, and behavior that ranges from abusive to criminal. 

Not so with Psych. From the showrunner to the writers to the actors, we have a front row seat to an object lesson on how to produce a wildly entertaining TV show without a dumpster dive into dysfunction.

Steve Franks has my vote as showrunner of the century, based on many of the tales told by multiple sources, ranging from Lawson and Omundson to the star Roday and writer Andy Berman. From the recollections of many, Franks seems to be the "North Star" of the show, encouraging improvisation, transforming script writing into a collaborative rather than mortal combat art, and simply allowing the show to breath.

In one podcast episode where Dulé Hill (Burton Guster AKA Gus) guested, he told a story of how he wasn't used to Franks allowing and encouraging spontaneity and improvisation, since his last job on The West Wing TV show had Aaron Sorkin as the creator and showrunner, where the script was followed to the letter.

From the podcast episodes released since November 2021, it's clear that the cast and crew bonded in Vancouver during the filming of the show. Since the show ended, the cast and crew have gathered for three subsequent TV movies, with the last being in 2021. Clearly, the magic and fan interest is still there.

What makes this re-watch podcast special is that it's not simply a "memory palace" of a particular show episode, but a first stop on an express train to a behind the scenes view of how a group of talented people nurture an artistic project like Psych.

Lawson and Omundson read questions and comments during the podcast from the fans, and it’s clear that they and the entire crew respect and welcome fan enthusiasm. Contrast this reaction to the whining of William Shatner (Captain Kirk) who once told Star Trek fans to “get a life.”

Franks was again a guest on the first episode covering the second season and, in a narcissistic world of Hollywood egos, he graciously passes out heaping tablespoons of credit to Roday, the writers, director, the actors and the crew. It's refreshing. 

Stories abound on the show about how Roday (in real life a quiet, thoughtful person unlike his character Shawn Spencer) injected so much creative life force into his character and the entire show. In fact, the first episode of Psych's second season, American Duos (a takeoff on American Idol) was co-written by Roday.

So if you're a TMZ junkie, "jonesing" for gossip, rumors, and examples of celebrity bad behavior, The Psycholgists Are In podcast is not for you.

However, if you enjoy listening to creative artists enthusiastically discuss how they fashioned a raw concept into an iconic show, this podcast is for you. 

After all, where can you find a TV show where one character, "Gus," can have so many names given to him by James Roday (Shawn Spencer)?

Gus "Sillypants" Jackson. Felicia Fancybottom. Galileo Humpkins. And my favorite, "Squirts McIntosh."

Embrace the "Pineapple."