Back in the Habit: USA Renews "Monk"

You can't keep an obsessive-compulsive disorder suffering detective down, apparently.

USA has ordered a seventh season of drama Monk, with production to begin straightaway on 16 episodes to air as early as July. The first half of the season will air this summer, with the back half being held until January 2009.

"You might say we were 'obsessed' with making this deal," USA's EVP of Original Programming Jeff Wachtel said in a statement. "Let's face it: It's not easy to 'wash your hands' of a show like Monk. We have high hopes that this summer it will once again 'clean up' in the ratings."

Ahem.

Set to return for Season Seven of Monk: Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford.

Plans call for the cabler to once again pair Monk with its recent timeslot companion Psych, which was previously renewed for a 16-episode order, also to launch this summer.

In the meantime, USA will launch new original drama series In Plain Sight, starring Mary McCormack, Lesley Ann Warren, and Frederick Weller, on April 24th. And the cabler also has plans to launch new seasons of The Starter Wife, Burn Notice, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent this summer.