ONE Monk guest star gave the series its funniest version of “here's what happened.” All Monk episode had its own mystery to solve and would be end with Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) explaining how he solved the mystery with a monologue beginning with the phrase “here's what happened.” This was a tradition maintained throughout MonkThe eight-season run from 2002-2009 and was also included at the end of Mr. Monk's Last Casethe film's sequel that was released on Peacock in 2023.
While Monk has always been at the center of these explanations, the guest stars of each episode also played a role in them. There was no shortage of famous guest stars in Monkincluding Willie Nelson, Jason Alexander, Sarah Silverman, Howie Mandel, Stanley Tucci, Jon Favreau and Danny Trejo. However, it was another famous guest star that made the series more memorable and creative. “here's what happened” scene came to fruition.
Murderuss by Monk and Snoop Dogg rapped “Here’s What Happened” together
Murderuss hired a monk to prove his innocence
Season 6 Episode 2, “Mr. Monk and the Rapper”, featured Snoop Dogg in the role of Murderuss, a rapper who was accused of murder. Instead of Monk simply explaining that Murderuss was innocent, Monk and Murderuss rapped “here's what happened” in front of a crowd. Monk tried to get the crowd to listen by saying “word” repeatedly, but the crowd only listened when Murderuss started rapping and explained how he was framed by Denny Hodges (RonReaco Lee).
Murderuss revealed how Woody Mitchum (Shane Eldman), Hodges' partner at Fresh Rhymes Records, was the real target of the attack that killed rapper Xtra Large (Marcello Thedford). Hodges wanted all the money from the partnership for himself, but his plan went awry. The creative and unforgettable delivery of “here's what happened” it was made even better by the audience's enthusiastic reception, along with Monk worrying that Murderuss would drop the mic at the end.
Monk: Finding alternative ways to do “Here’s What Happened” has always been fun
Helped keep Monk's procedural format fresh
While there is inevitably repetition in procedural programs like MonkIt's often refreshing when these series manage to find a way to surprise and subvert traditional episode structure. Finding an alternative way to present “here's what happened” has always been enjoyable and an effective way to mix Monkusual format. “Mr. Monk and the Rapper” had the best alternative version of “here's what happened” but there were several other fun ones too.
One of them was in season 3 episode 12, “Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever”, when Monk and Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford) simultaneously delivered “here's what happened“monologues. Another big one was in season 7, episode 9, “Mr. Monk and the Miracle” when Monk had to sing his “here's what happened” explanation while wearing monk's robes in a monastery. Creative touches like this are part of what made Monk distinctive and what elevated it above other procedural series.