No Sharona -- actress exits USA's 'Monk'
Tuesday, August 31, 2004 Posted: 9:46 AM EDT (1346 GMT)




NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -- The hit USA Network series "Monk" is losing Bitty Schram, the Golden Globe-nominated sidekick to series star Tony Shalhoub.

Schram will not return as Sharona, nurse and assistant to Shalhoub's obsessive-compulsive detective, when the show resumes the second half of its third season in January.

"'Monk' has decided to go in a different creative direction with some of its characters," a USA spokesman said. "Bitty will not continue with the cast and we thank her for her notable contributions and wish her the very best."

"Bitty Schram and USA Network have amicably decided to go their own separate ways ... She wishes everyone connected with the show continued success and looks forward to pursing the various opportunities before her," Schram's management firm, Untitled Entertainment, said in a statement.

Schram was with the series since its inception. She was nominated this year for a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy series. Shalhoub won an Emmy for best actor in a comedy series after its first season.

USA already has put the word out in the casting community for a new regular part on the series, that of a world-weary but attractive thirtysomething widow who works as a bartender.

While both USA and Schram's management characterized Schram's exit as a change in creative direction, there were rumblings in recent weeks that some members of the series' supporting cast, including Schram, Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford, attempted to renegotiate the terms of their contract.

Levine and Gray-Stanford, who play San Francisco cops constantly vexed by Monk's unorthodox detective work, will remain with the series, according to a USA spokesman.

Sources indicated that the renegotiation process led to the most recent filmed episode being shot without any of the three supporting actors.

Television networks are increasingly willing to take a hard line against raise-seeking actors who aren't absolutely essential to the show. Last month, the CBS hit drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" fired and rehired cast members George Eads and Jorja Fox after a similar salary standoff.

Sounds like she was fired after negotiations went sour, which is too bad. She was integral to the series.

"There's no crying in baseball!"

Man, that sucks. I wonder what is going to happen with the series now? Hopefully we don't see any more of that obnoxious black nurse. One episode of her was enough.

I am not a huge fan of Sharona, but she is going to be hard to replace. I am curious to see how far back this sets Monk.

I think Sharona is what makes the show what it is. That game show episode a few weeks back proves that, it didn't have the same flow for me.

Fonzie has just cleared the ramp...

That really sucks.

She's as much a part of the show as Monk is.

Agreed. Over the past season, she's just been there, without much to do. Unfortunately, her character has gotten stale. But, main characters leaving a show always spells impending doom.

Dumb move by USA if she was fired. She was a huge part of the show

I agree. But I won't miss her son.

Agreed...and his amazing growing/shrinking hair.

And I think they've even used different actors.

I am so far behind on Monk (I think the last one I watched was the one with the power failure, where Monk made his date walk up to the restaurant on the 57th floor).

Anyway, Monk without Sharone=bad. Monk with wiscracking, world-weary bartender=very bad.

a "wisecracking, world-weary bartender"...

who thinks up this shit..?

wisecracking, world-weary bartender

I guess Monk's going to become an alcoholic from now on At least a nurse for Monk made sense.

Coyote Ugly/Monk crossover?

Doh.

So I guess that Sharona and Lt. Disher won't be hooking up anytime soon...

The show has sunk to near-slapstick with this last half season. Without Sharona, it will be even worse. If they bring back the obnoxious black nurse or the snivelling upstairs neighbor as regulars, I am so done with this series.

I am certainly no fan of actors trying to renegotiate his or her contract after hooking up with a surprise hit, but unless she threatened to not show up for tapings, I can't see why they fired her.

Different creative direction means the show as we knew it is dead.

This sucks. I really liked Sharona, and feel that her character was integral. I disliked the replacement for a week nurse, and sincerely hope they change their minds about who to cast. I think he should just get a new nurse, but not anyone they used before.

I like tony shaloub enough to keep watching for now, but if it keeps going downhill...I'll be dropping this once great show from my lineup.

Forget jumping the shark, I think they're about to get eaten by the shark. I don't even know how the show can go on without Sharona. It's like if Laurel left and you just had Hardy.

way to kill one of their highest rated shows.

Well crap, they changed to the most irritating theme song ever and that did nothing to the show's ratings, so they must have thought the show was bullet proof.

I don't think that nurse will be replacement. She's on Reno 911! (and I hope she stays there, where she is much more entertaining).

Anybody else hate it when they show Monk at his shrink? To me, it's not at all entertaining.

Maybe not at the shrink, although the one scene where he was in the lobby when the other OCD guy was there was pretty funny.

not sure if this was meant as sarcasm or not but there is a difference between the theme music and a major cast member.