• Network: USA
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 7, 2006
  • Season #: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6
Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 20
  2. Negative: 3 out of 20
  1. 100
    It's not only laugh-out-loud-until-soda-squirts-out-of-your-nose funny, but it's also perfectly cast.
  2. 80
    If you like "Monk," you'll probably love this show, which may actually be even more enjoyable.
  3. "Psych" is one of those happy collisions of an intelligent script and an appealing cast.
  4. 75
    Granted, the premise is a stretch. But the gimmick allows for some clever comic jibes while creating some useful dramatic tension between Shawn and the cops, Shawn and his father, and Shawn and his best friend.
  5. Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    70
    As with Monk, the crime is largely an afterthought. Psych similarly serves up murder as a fluffy soufflé, but what a tasty way to end the week.
  6. It takes itself seriously pretty much not at all, which is precisely what we want at 10 p.m. on a summer Friday.
  7. The lighthearted "Psych" charms even as it duplicates the structure and tone of "Monk."
  8. As is the case of "Monk'' at its best, ["Psych"] isn't as much about the crime mysteries as it is a vehicle for lighthearted fun.
  9. There are holes to fill, though, before this show gets up to "Monk" level. What's encouraging is that it starts solidly and has a chance to find itself.
  10. 60
    Can you enjoy a show without liking the main character? Psych puts that unnecessary challenge to viewers.
  11. Painless at worst, and mostly better than that.
  12. The writers deploy the savant protagonist's gift so cleverly in moving the plot along, we wonder why they can't lend more nuance to the characters.
  13. Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    50
    "Psych" isn't nearly as much fun as it ought to be, offering a breezy but not particularly captivating twist on a very well-worn buddy formula.
  14. 50
    It feels more like a programming move than a creative endeavor.
  15. Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    42
    Better show title? Monk for Morons.
  16. Inventive one minute and ploddingly formulaic the next.
  17. 40
    Roday doesn't quite have the chops to back up his Carreyisms. Shawn is a first-draft version of Jason Lee's title character in "My Name Is Earl"--a lovable goof, but with little ability to gain traction in your heart.
  18. 38
    Unlike Monk, a gently comic character coping with mental illness, Roday's just an overgrown kid. [10 Jul 2006, p.39]
  19. 30
    Psych is a one-trick pony that quickly deteriorates into a rather humdrum mystery once the novelty of watching Spencer fake his psychic revelations wears off.
  20. Reviewed by: Diane Werts
    30
    A second-rate knockoff of what's not quite a first-rate fabrication itself.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 189 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 105
  2. Negative: 7 out of 105
  1. KevinH
    10
    One of the best shows I have ever seen.
  2. StirFry
    10
    Perfect show! Sarcastically hilarious! The way Roday and Hill work together just crack me up too! I couldn't WAIT for the first season to come out, and now I've got it! Funnier than Monk, in my opinion, but then again, I am a sarcastic person. That's why it appeals to me more than Monk. Full Review »
  3. UsagiC
    9
    If I wanted a serious crime drama, I'd watch Law and Order, CSI (in one of its seemingly endless carnations), or NCIS. The critics are taking themselves waaay to seriously. Psych is cheesy in the best possible way. There's nothing better than ending a week of work and classes than watching my two fav detectives solve mysteries. If the show is too far-fetched for the 'oh, look at me I work for the WSJ so my serious opinion matters' critics who don't like it, well, that's what we 'low-brows' like to call escapism. Full Review »