Bitty Schram (Sherona) leaves Monk

[Henry]

NNNNNNOOOOO!!!

Oh, cruel fate! Must you take even THIS from me, after Firefly, Wonderfalls, Buffy, and Angel???

Monk has excommunicated Sharona Fleming

Bitty Schram, who plays Adrian Monk's care-giving sidekick, won't be helping the detective handle his obsessive-compulsive behavior any more.

Executives for USA Network confirmed the surprise departure of Schram, who had earned a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination for her role opposite Emmy and Globe winner Tony Shalhoub, from the show, which is the top-rated drama on cable.

The net blamed the usual creative differences for the split...Schram's management, Untitled Entertainment, released a statement of its own: "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."

The announcements did little to stop the Hollywood trades from trying to figure out the real reason behind Schram's departure. Industry scuttlebutt suggests that Schram may have lost out in a bid for a higher salary. There have also been rumors that the personality of the character and/or actress had worn thin.

Episodes for the second half of season three, set to air in January, will begin shooting next month. Executive producer David Hoberman told Variety that show creator Andy Breckman "decided to go in a different direction in terms of the character." Hoberman wasn't clear on exactly what that direction is, or how Fleming's departure will be explained, but said a replacement character will "serve a similar role" as girl Friday to the neurotic Monk.

The Hollywood Reporter, meanwhile, says casting agents have been asked to find an actress who can play a world-weary but attractive thirtysomething widow, who works as a bartender.

Whoever is chosen will join a supporting cast that still includes Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford (news), who play Captain Leland Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Randall Disher, respectively, the San Francisco cops who have to cope with Monk's dysfunctionaly behavior and unusual crime-solving techniques. According to the trades, Levine and Gray-Stanford also tried to negotiate for more money, something hard to do in an increasingly tightwad business. The producers responded by filming an episode without them or Schram. But now they're back and she's not.

Prior to playing Monk's devoted nurse and assistant, the New York born Schram, 38--whose full name is Elizabeth--had worked extensively on Broadway. She was best known, however, for playing the weepy right fielder Evelyn Gardner in A League of Their Own who is famously told by manager Tom Hanks (news) that there's "no crying in baseball."

Or, for that matter, in topsy-turvy world of TV.

Call me skeptical - it sounds like things may head south for an excellent TV show - Schram absolutely carried half of that show.

Oh, well...

 

[Ashwyn]

Aw, man. The two characters relationship was great.

 

[Hand of Evil]

I read this Tuesday and was beside myself in my "oh crap". While I think the show can be just as entertaining without her, she was a great character, her interaction with not just Monk but everyone was enjoyable.

 

[Mark]

My feeling is that there is a good four-person, ensemble cast that includes Bitty Schram who will be very hard, if not impossible, to replace without damaging the show or changing it so much that it loses the magic. I think shows like Law and Order and NYPD Blue get away with the revolving door cast style because the audience expects the changes and is therefore prepared for change. Even the loss of David Caruso was weathered despite his leaving unexpectedly and on bad terms with the producers.

Being left with unanswered questioned puts the audience in a tougher position in regards to moving on as the show continues. I think covering up the details does more harm than good because the audience needs someone to blame before it can move on and accept the change, if the audience is going to move on at all and despite the fact that the audience might blame the producers of the show.

 

[takyris]

Dangit.

 

[Richards]

Aw........crap.

Johnathan

 

[WizarDru]

My feeling is that there is a good four-person, ensemble cast that includes Bitty Schram who will be very hard, if not impossible, to replace without damaging the show or changing it so much that it loses the magic. I think shows like Law and Order and NYPD Blue get away with the revolving door cast style because the audience expects the changes and is therefore prepared for change. Even the loss of David Caruso was weathered despite his leaving unexpectedly and on bad terms with the producers.

Law and Order and NYPD Blue are ensemble cast shows, so the losses are always much less. L&O, for example, never has much time for character development, per se, since it's all about the procedural. NYPD Blue might have stumbled and fallen, had David Caruso been the only thing holding it up....but Dennis Franz is the true foundation of that show. If they lost him, it'd all come crashing down. Mind you, L&O without Jerry Orbach will probably feel the same way.

Bitty Schram, though, is a central part of Monk, isn't she? I mean, yeah, Tony Shaloub is the main character, but she's almost as critical to the show as he is. Good writing may pull it off, but I dunno. It's a pity, either way.

 

[Sarigar]

She was good in the show, yet my fiance and I would always be looking for the scenes where we would go, "she looks cute there" or "from that angle she's attractive". Her attitude and looks played into her part, but at the same time it detracted away from the story. I'll miss her, but I won't, ya know?

 

[KnowTheToe]

Look guys the change does not need to be bad. We could start a write in campaign to replace her with a really hot youg chick who wears really really low cut shirts and short skirts. How could that be bad? I mean even women like to look at attractive women

 

[Silver Moon]

Can you say "Jump the Shark".