James Roday poses with the media.

MediaBlvd was recently on set with the cast and crew of the USA network show “Psych”.  The third season is set to premiere July 18^th and according to the people we talked to… the new season promises 20% more of everything.  The first two seasons were all about introducing the characters, and creating a style for the show.  This next season will delve deeper into the relationships between the characters and we will discover why they react towards each other the way they do.  The first episode “The Ghost in You” picks up where last season left off, when we met Shawn’s mother played by the talented Cybil Shepherd.   She has returned to town to perform psychological evaluations on several of the officers in the department.  Detective Lassiter is at the top of her list and she attempts to uncover the reasons he has felt it necessary to draw his gun in several of his last cases.  Her return has also caused Henry and Shawn to re-examine their relationship as father/son when Shawn discovers a new truth about his parent’s divorce.   Finally, Gus’s job as “sidekick” also comes under fire and he is forced to choose between his best friend and his job at the pharmaceutical company.

On the set of Psych

When asked how the writers come up with episode ideas for the show, Tim informed us that the writers meet at a pitch meeting to discuss fresh settings and ideas.  The writers try to pick settings and situations that are slightly off the radar of the general population.  Roller Derby is just one slightly quirky trend, which is currently seeing resurgence in popularity.  Another slightly quirky trivia fact is that Tim performs in a band in LA called the Friendly Indians that perform the Psych theme song for the show. Steve Franks (creator of the Psych show) wrote the song, and performs in this band as well.  Several crew members on the Vancouver set of Psych also have a band called the “Meltones”, When Tim is in Vancouver he likes to sit in, and Jam with them.

While visiting the set of Psych, I had the opportunity to interview the principal cast of the show.   There were several common themes that spread across the interviews.    One was a game called “Mafia” that is a favorite off camera past time among the cast and crew of the show.  Guest stars on the show are often asked to participate in this role playing game that often stretches all night and into the early morning.   Although there is some disagreement as to who the best player is, those we talked to tended to agree that when James and Dule were both selected as the Mafia, they were a tough team to beat. 

Tim Omundson discusses his role on Psych

After visiting with the cast members, we were taken to visit several of the sets on used on the show.  I’m always amazed at the workmanship and detail that go into the sets, including the props that adorn the rooms and offices.  For example, on the police chief’s desk is a photo of Kirsten Nelson’s own baby.  In Henry’s house there are several photos of Corbin Bernsen with his own children.  The art department even creates their own graphics and logos for items that appear on the show.  One of the sets that were being used for filming on the day we were there was a small retail clothing store.  The price tags and clothing labels we all were custom made to match the name of the fictitious store.  Even though all these sets were located in a massive building, there were fake plants placed outside of the various windows in the sets to make it look as if the rooms were located in sunny California rather than cloudy Vancouver BC.   We were told that when they need to shot a scene outside, they bring in Palm trees and other tropical vegetation to help with the illusion of the show being set in Santa Barbara.

The illusion is a good one… I live in the Northwest, visiting Vancouver often and didn’t realize that the show was filmed up here until I recognize one of the buildings used in the show as being in Vancouver.  Another outdoor location that seems to be used fairly often in the show is the waterfront area near White Rock BC.  Simply adding a few non-native plants, and make it seem like Southern California.  Vancouver is used to film so many television shows and movies that it has earned the nickname “Hollywood North”.