Former detective Adrian Monk (played by Tony Shahub)'s photographic memory and astonishing ability to piece together small clues have made him a local legend. Since the unresolved murder of his wife Trudy in 1997, he has been suffering from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and various phobias. Monk is now on mental illness leave at the San Francisco Police Department, and serves as a freelance detective/consultant in difficult cases. He hopes to persuade his former boss, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levin), to allow him to return to the police station. In the first season, Stoudemire wavered between admiration for Monk and dissatisfaction with his quirks. As the series progressed, he became more and more of Monk's friends, often calling him to help, both for Monk's benefit and for his own benefit. However, he is aware of Monk's limitations and strengths, and may still have doubts about the wisdom of allowing Monk to hold a gun or subdue criminals. Stottlemeyer's deputy, Lieutenant Randall Disher (played by Jason Gray Stanford), also seems to have referred to him as a "flawed detective". Despite his flaws and shortcomings, with the additional help of Monk's personal assistant, the three are becoming an increasingly effective team. From the double episode pilot to the first half of the third season, Monk obtained his nurse, Sharona Fleming (played by Betty Schlam) Help for. But in the tenth episode of the third season, Sharona is replaced by her new assistant Natalie Tigg (played by Trelle Howard). Natalie, like Sharona, is a divorcee with a son named Benjy. Natalie is a single parent, a widow, and a daughter named Julie (played by Emmy Clarke). Unlike Sharona, Natalie is not a nurse, but a former bartender. "Mr. Monk," she is still talking to her new boss.
