As we noted in our review, Psych: The Movie 2: Lassie Come Home is a return to form for the fan-favorite procedural dramedy. Eschewing the trappings of Psych: The Movie, which felt like what it was — a long-in-development follow-up to the show created with hardcore fans in mind and the conclusion to a long-running arc in hand — the second movie, which comes to Peacock with its launch tonight, feels a bit more like a reunion show. Tim Omundson, who had only a brief cameo in the first movie because he had suffered a stroke that took him off his feet for a while, plays a key role in the new movie, which also incorporates more characters from the TV show and fewer cool, new gimmicks.
During a conversation with the cast of Psych during Peacock’s recent press junket, they said that was the plan. To them, they said, it always feels like “home” to do new Psych, so why not make it feel that way for everybody?
“Anytime we all get together, we love each other so much that it’s always so fun and it’s like a day hasn’t passed,” Maggie Lawson told ComicBook.com. “But with this one it was particularly special, because of Tim and not having him there for the first one. I think for all of us, our family was whole again. We all got to be whole and we all got to celebrate Tim and the inspiration that he is.”
The love for Omundson pours off the screen, with characters expressing it openly and the story making room to give him some powerful story moments and plenty of room to act the hell out of them. But bringing back Carlton Lassiter was only one part of making Psych: The Movie 2 feel like “home.”
“When we made the first movie, we thought we had to blow it out of the box somehow, to make it bigger and badder and more expensive than ever, but you realize that it’s really tough to do that when you’re still on a basic cable budget,” explained series star James Roday Rodriguez. “So the second time around, there were two things that we kind of led with. One was obviously let’s build a story around Tim, and let’s bring Lassiter back to the Psych-Os. And the second thing [was], let’s not get caught up in doing anything except making old-school Psych. Let’s go back to doing what we do best, and that’s a really convoluted mystery and a bunch of bits. And it’s what put us on the map, it’s what fans go for in the b beginning, so we really did approach this second movie as a big of a throwback to earlier seasons of Psych where it was all about the characters, and less about the trimmings and the fancy stuff that we did in the first movie.”
“The hope is that it’s worth the wait, and that in addition to seeing the movie, they can stream the whole series again if they want,” Rodriguez added, noting that the series had a “weird history” and that USA “never made a great deal with anybody,” so this is the first time in the show’s history that every season and the movie can be streamed for free in one place.
“In the same way it’s Lassie Come Home, it’s Psych come home,” said Dule Hill, who clearly rehearsed for this moment. “All the Psych episodes are under one umbrella.”
Psych: The Movie 2: Lassie Come Home will begin streaming later today on Peacock.
Justin Morgan helped bring TeslaBel from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a contributor to TeslaBel, Justin mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.
