query: When did Monk premier?
passage: Monk (season 1)
The first season of Monk originally aired in the United States on USA Network from July 12 to October 18, 2002, which consisted of 13 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Bitty Schram, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford were introduced as portraying the main characters. Tony Shalhoub portrayed Adrian Monk, the title character, an OCD homicide detective from San Francisco, who was removed from the force after the murder of his wife. A DVD of the season was released on June 15, 2004.
passage: Monk (TV series)
Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is a former homicide detective and a current consultant for the San Francisco Police Department. He has an extreme case of OCPD and is well known for his various fears and phobias, including, but certainly not limited to, heights, snakes, crowds, glaciers, rodeos and milk. His wife Trudy was murdered in 1997, and he is haunted by her death (and the fact that it was unsolved) until the series finale. Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram; seasons 1–3) is Monk's nurse and later becomes his first assistant. She refuses to baby him, often forcing him to do things that are unpleasant to him. Her final appearance as a regular character is in "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine" (3.09). She moves to New Jersey midway through season three, leaving only a note. However, she returns in the final season in "Mr. Monk and Sharona" (8.10) in order to give closure to her character. By "Mr. Monk and the End (Part Two)" (8.16), it was revealed that she and Randy have moved to New Jersey together. Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard; seasons 3–8) is Monk's second and final assistant. Although she is more deferential to her boss than Sharona, referring to him as "Mr. Monk", she is not hesitant about telling him when his eccentricities are going too far. A young widow who lives with her daughter Julie, Natalie lost her husband Mitch when he was shot down over Kosovo in 1998. She first appears in "Mr. Monk and the Red Herring" (3.10). Natalie was introduced partway through season three when Bitty Schram, who played Sharona, left "precipitous[ly]", reportedly over a contract dispute. Traylor Howard had not yet seen the show and was unenthusiastic about her manager's urgings to audition as Schram's replacement. She nevertheless tried out and got the part. Despite her initial "cool" reception from fans, show co-creator Andy Breckman believes Traylor quickly and successfully filled the void. "I will always be grateful to Traylor because she came in when the show was in crisis and saved our baby […] We had to make a hurried replacement, and not every show survives that. I was scared to death."[3] Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) is the head of the Homicide Division of the San Francisco Police Department. He and Monk have been good friends since Monk was on the police force, and he continues to be Monk's friend throughout the series. He does his best to help Monk but is occasionally annoyed by Monk's phobias and the damage they can cause. In the first two seasons, Stottlemeyer is reluctant to work with Monk, seemingly annoyed by the idea that he could not handle his cases himself. By seasons three and four, his faith in Monk's contribution is well-cemented and his collaboration unquestionable. Lieutenant Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) is a lieutenant in the Homicide Division of the SFPD. He is naive and often portrayed as slightly dim. The other characters are often irritated by him, but they also care about him. In season eight he is seen kissing Sharona, and in the series finale he moves to Summit, New Jersey where they move in together. He becomes Chief of Police there.