That’s the good news — actress Bitty Schram has agreed to reprise her very much missed role as nurse Sharona Fleming, Adrian Monk’s former and first assistant in crime, during the upcoming eighth and final season of USA Network’s Monk.

Then there’s the bad news — she’s only appearing on one darn episode. I guess that’s better than none, though.

The network announced the news earlier this week with an accurate comment from series star Tony Shalhoub included: “We couldn’t think of a better way to help wrap up the series than with the return of Bitty’s character. Bringing some closure to Sharona is long overdue.”

I’ll say. As longtime fans will recall, Sharona left the series midway through the third season in 2004 when her character reconciled with her ex-husband Trevor Howe and schlepped across the country to New Jersey to move back in with him, her son Benjy in tow. Viewers were informed of the development after the fact, in a subsequent episode, and never received a fitting opportunity to say goodbye properly.

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As sad as it is to say, we’ve finally reached the end of the road for the next-to-last season of Monk. “Mr. Monk Fights City Hall,” the Season Seven finale, premieres this Friday, February 20, at 9pm EST, and the next season will be the show’s eighth and last. So, let’s enjoy what we have now while we can.

The finale features the return of Adrian Monk’s rival in psychosis, Harold Krenshaw (Tim Bagley), when the parking garage where Monk’s beloved wife Trudy was killed is scheduled for demolition. Intent on preventing that from happening, Monk intervenes and takes his case all the way to city hall.

In the process, he not only bumps into Harold yet again, but he also quickly finds himself emboriled in another mystery, this one revolving around the disappearance of a city official crucial to preserving the parking garage. Jon Polito (Raising the Bar, Homicide: Life on the Street) guest stars, as well.

Follow the jump for a sneak peek featuring Monk, Natalie, and Harold, and a video of the episode promo.

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Great guest stars come to USA’s Monk and Psych tonight to help the shows celebrate the best time of year when it happens — Friday the 13th, of course.

Up first at 9pm EST on Monk’s “Mr. Monk and The Magician” is former Crossing Jordan star Steve Valentine. He plays a magician with the stage name The Great Torini who plays head games with Monk when the legendary detective suspects him of murder.

Next at 10pm is Psych with “Tuesday The 17th” and former Family Ties star Justine Bateman, who plays Victoria. Shawn and Gus get into all kinds of spooky weirdness when a childhood friend hires them to find a missing camp counselor who disappeared near their old sleep away camp grounds, which are now abandoned and seemingly haunted.

Follow the jump for promos for both perfectly timed episodes. And FYI: Although each show has been renewed for an additional season of 16 episodes, their current seasons end next Friday.

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Last Friday, the current seventh season of USA Network’s Monk resumed, to the immense excitement of loyal fans everywhere. In celebration of the show’s return, Comedy Centric is hosting another giveaway with some pretty cool prizes for one lucky winner.

Up for grabs are: (1) Monk Season Six on DVD, (2) a Monk Book, (3) a Monk Commuter Mug, (4) a Monk Hat, and (5) a Monk Key Chain.

All you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite Monk episode of all time. That’s it!

Well, I also need entrants to include a valid email address in the appropriate box when submitting the comment so I can reach the ultimate winner quickly (no need to leave it in the body of the comment, though). Just one entry per person is allowed, and also keep in mind that the prize package will only be shipped to an address in the United States.

Otherwise, everyone has until 11:59pm EST on Friday, February 6, to enter the giveaway, so have it.

Good Luck!

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I hope everybody else is as psyched as I am for the return of Tony Shalhoub and his magnificent crime dramedy Monk.

The place to be at 9pm EST tonight is USA Network, which will air the seventh-midseason premiere of the show, a fun episode called “Mr. Monk and the Other Brother.” And, you betcha — it appears Adrian Monk does indeed have another sibling besides John Turturro’s recovered agoraphobic Ambrose, a half brother named Jack Jr. played by Joy Ride etcetera star Steve Zahn.

The action gets rolling at the very beginning of the episode, when poor Monk, busy whipping himself up a stack of perfectly square pancakes one morning, realizes that someone is breaking into his apartment. That someone is Jack, who has just escaped from prison and soon informs Monk that he needs help bringing the person who framed him for murder to justice.

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Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, there’s only one better way than Black Friday to kick off the holiday season properly: with the now traditional year-end return of USA Network’s Monk and Psych for their respective crowd-pleasing midseason holiday specials.

First up is Team Tony Shalhoub at 9pm EST, who bring us “Mr. Monk and the Miracle.” Neither Adrian Monk nor Captain Stottlemeyer believes in miracles, until a little intervention from fate.

In the case of the OCD detective, he decides to take on an inspiring mystery involving the murder of several homeless men’s friend, courtesy of Natalie’s intervention. And Stottlemeyer experiences renewed faith when a fountain at a monastery appears to get rid of his chronic pain.

Following at 10pm EST is Psych and “Christmas Joy.” Shawn and Gus’ title happiness over supposedly saving Christmas is almost ruined when the mall Santa they help a young girl get out of jail turns out to be a common con artist, as is the child.

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USA Network has determined the future of Monk, one of television’s most enjoyable, unique, and memorable series ever. Tony Shalhoub and the rest of the stellar cast will end their fantastic run after the upcoming eighth season, which is set to premiere in the summer of 2009 with a 16-episode order.

Says network executive vice president Jeff Wachtel: “We want to build to a spectacular conclusion for this wonderful show. By many measures, Monk is the most successful series in the history of basic cable television — and it was certainly the original tentpole of our ‘character’ brand. Our fans have been extremely dedicated and season eight should prove to be a very satisfying reward.”

I certainly hope so. We all knew the good times had to end at some point, but I still feel bittersweet tears welling up already. At least it’s reassuring that the series will exit on a ratings and quality high. And then there’s always the near daily repeats and frequent Monkathons.

Heads-up to uninformed fans. As the Fall 2008 season shifts into full gear, both Monk and Psych will air their midseason finales tonight, signaling the end of their summertime runs. The series are currently scheduled to return one more time this year with fresh stuff on Friday, November 28, for their now traditional holiday episodes.

Meanwhile, today at 9pm EST, USA Network will present “Mr. Monk Gets Hypnotized.” When Adrian undergoes hypnosis as a new form of therapy, he suddenly begins acting like he’s nine years old again. Hopefully, the regression will help him solve the main crime.

Or, perhaps the show will take a week off since the kicker on last week’s hallmark 100th episode, “Mr. Monk’s 100th Case,” was that the detective actually solved two crimes instead of one. That amount put him at 101 cases solved, an odd number he can’t very well retire on, as he wanted to do when he thought he had reached an even success rate of 100. Richard Schiff, formerly of The West Wing, guest stars.

Then, at 10pm, Schiff’s fellow West Wing colleague Gary Cole guest stars, along with Spin City’s Alan Ruck, on the “Gus Walks Into a Bank” episode of Psych. Ruck plays a bank robber who forces Shawn into negotiation duties when he holds Gus and other bank customers hostage. Cole, on the other hand, plays the familiar role of a badass lawman, which is always all good.

The Fall 2008 TV season is kicking into full gear, which means it’s time to roll out the weekly guide to comedy TV again.

At the beginning of each week, the post will list NEW episodes only of series covered at Comedy Centric. Videos, photos, and additional spoilers will still be published on an individual basis when available, however.

The following episodes are scheduled for the week ending Sunday, September 14. All times are Eastern Standard.

Monday | September 8

Weeds — Till We Meet Again
Nancy goes to the DEA, Celia begins to appreciate rehab, Doug learns about Andy and Maria’s relationship, and Shane uses drugs to impress his two girlfriends.
[10pm-10:30pm/Showtime]

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Tonight, a very special milestone will occur in the long and storied history of USA Network’s original hit crime dramedy Monk. After seven mostly entertaining seasons, the series will finally air its 100th episode, aptly titled “Mr. Monk’s 100th Case,” a major hallmark for any television series.

Onboard for the guest star-filled extravaganza are a slew of familiar faces and few new ones, too. They include newcomers Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) and Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives), as well as returning guests John Turturro as Monk’s agoraphobic brother Ambrose, Tim Bagley as Monk’s nemesis Harold Krenshaw, Sarah Silverman as Monk’s biggest fan Marci Maven, Jarrad Paul as neighbor Kevin Dorfman, Howie Mandel as former cult leader Ralph Roberts, and Shalhoub’s real-life wife Brooke Adams as flight attendant Leigh Harrison.

There are also a few shifty criminals nabbed thanks to Monk’s brilliance, such as Sharon Lawrence’s Linda Fusco, Andy Richter’s Hal Tucker, David Koechner’s Joey Krenshaw, Ricardo Chavira’s Jimmy Belmont, and Angela Kinsey’s Arlene Boras.

This one is going to be a blast, so if you’re a Monk fan, you won’t want to miss it.

Monk airs Fridays on USA at 9pm EST.