Bitty Schram Returning For Monk’s Final Season

Bitty Schram has finalized a deal to reprise her role as sidekick to Tony Shalhoub’s obsessive-compulsive detective during Monk’s eighth and final season, says Michael Ausiello. Schram left Monk midway through the show’s third season reportedly due to a contract dispute. Producers, however, insisted at the time that they simply wanted to take the show in a different direction. Whatever triggered her exit, it’s apparently water under the bridge.

Monk explained Schram’s absence by having Sharona move back to New Jersey with her son and ex-husband, Trevor. It’s not clear how she’ll be reintroduced, but Schram’s only slated to appear in one episode.