These 'Monk' Episodes Are Worthy of a 'Knives Out' Movie

Monk aired for eight seasons on USA Network, between 2002 and 2009. In that time, Adrian Monk (Tony Shaloub) the “defective detective,” as he was rudely called by his detractors, solved hundreds of murder mysteries, using the power of his keen, nearly debilitating powers of observation. Flash forward to 2025, where the third installment of the Knives Out franchise is slated to be released on Netflix December 12. 

In Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man, Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) similarly uses his impressive powers of deduction to solve a big, sprawling murder mystery. Blanc has done it twice before, for Knives Out (2019) and Knives Out: Glass Onion (2022)—each crime gets a nice, two-ish hour runtime to move through elaborate set pieces, have a few stellar red herrings, and conclude with a satisfying solve. 

They only gave Monk about 45 minutes to figure out his Whodunnits—and yes, even though he had 125 episodes, the new release of the latest Knives Out mystery had me thinking: There are a few excellent Monk episodes that deserve their own cinematic feature, where we can see Adrian really pontificate and ham it up, a la Benoit. And before you bring up the Monk movie released post COVID-19, that monstrosity is not an official entry in the Monk cannon and is officially stricken from my ibrain. Here are three Monk episodes that could easily be adapted into a Knives Out-style franchise. All should feature Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram) as his nurse/assistant. 

Season 1, Episode 11: “Mr. Monk and the Earthquake”

When an earthquake rocks San Francisco, Mr. Monk is so shaken he loses his ability to speak. Instead, when he tries to talk, gibberish ensues—Sharona goes so far as to take Monk to his therapist to figure out what’s wrong. His inability to form coherent sentences becomes a real challenge when he determines that one of the deaths that occurred during the earthquake was actually a murder. He suspects the victim’s wife—but just can’t crack a few key details to bring the case to a close. 

Like each of the Knives Out films, the central murder mystery of this episode involves wealth and class and the lengths people are willing to go to for money. Mr. Monk’s gibberish and Sharona’s meeting with an alluring photographer, and Amy Sedaris as Sharona’s sister also add texture. Let’s stretch it out into a full two-hour spectacular and add a few more false flag suspects as well as a few Gen Z actors for good measure. 

Season 2, Episode 6: “Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater”

In this episode, Monk has to take off his private detective hat and go undercover as a stage actor. Amy Sedaris is back as Sharona’s sister Gail, and she is accused of murdering her co-star. With Sharona’s family in a panic, Monk has to prove that Gail didn’t actually murder anyone—and prove who the real killer is. 

Benoit Blanc has done a little undercover work himself; or at the very least, masked the true reason for his presence in Glass Onion. Also like in that film, Monk is entangled with people who have a deep, unhealthy desire to become famous. Classic tropes like a poisoned apple and and a swapped a stage knife make this the perfect episode to blow up into a full theatrical experience. Plus, there are thick southern accents to boot (of varying quality), which seems to be another requirement for a Knives Out film. 

Season 3, Episode 5: “Mr. Monk and the Godfather”

The first mystery to solve in this episode: What’s the mafia doing out on the west coast? Once a convoluted plotline answers that question, Monk is tasked with solving the murders of five West Coast Mafia members. If he can figure it out, Monk will be offered his spot back on the San Francisco Police force. It’s high stakes—especially after the mafia also starts making demands for Monk’s special set of investigative skills. 

There’s really no shortage of other mob movies that can serve as inspiration to turn this mafia episode into a movie. Look at The Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas…people really love movies about this specific type of crime. And while there hasn’t been a Knives Out movie centered on the mob—not yet, at least—there definitely could be. Let’s throw in Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, and Robert De Niro as some mafiosos, and let Monk solve a crime family murder mystery that has a powerful through line about greed and loyalty.