Fans have been loving the latest addition to the Psych franchise! Psych 3: This Is Gus hit the Peacock streaming platform on Thursday, November 18, bringing forth an original story surrounding the beloved characters that fans have followed for the last fifteen years.
The new story follows Gus and Selene's maturing relationship, as they prepare to wed and welcome their first child into the world. However, as one can expect in the Psych Universe, things don't go as planned and the crime-solving gang is thrown into endless antics and unthinkable shenanigans.
With all of this fun, it can be easy to forget that in order to get the movie out at this time, the production crew and cast had to film during the COVID-19 pandemic. TheThings had the opportunity to speak with executive producer Chris Henze and cast members Maggie Lawson and Kirsten Nelson about their experience on the Psych 3 set.
Referring to filming during COVID-19 as one of the movie's greatest challenges, Henze told us, "COVID was a bit of a challenge this year. You can't make the movie that you immediately think of in your head. You're like, oh, I want them to go to Hawaii and do these car chases, and you come up with these big ideas, and then you go, we can't do that this time."
He added, "And what comes of that, as Steve [Franks] will tell you is that our best stuff, and certainly the stuff that seems most gratifying to us and hopefully to an audience, is when we're presented with challenges that we have to overcome. And whether it's figuring out a way to scoop somebody into a movie who's not fully available, and then you end up really making the most of that character by writing to them. Or if it's challenges because of a global pandemic. How are we going to make it all work?"
Henze was able to find a silver lining from the tough situation which led to Psych 3 becoming the show-stopper that it is. He continued, "You end up just digging in and figuring it out and being creative and being super-efficient. And as it turns out, sometimes creativity and efficiency make for really good content. You work harder and you get a better result. It was tough, but it was an honor."
Maggie Lawson Gets Emotional Recalling Cast Reunion In Psych 3
Juliet O'Hara actor Maggie Lawson recounted her filming experience during COVID-19 as a very emotional event. She described the quarantine process and isolation as "intimidating." Lawson said, "When we first got to Canada, we all had to quarantine for two weeks. You cannot leave your place. Over a little bit of time, it works on you a little bit."
Lawson continued to share one of her best memories from this period of time, one that involves her Psych costar, Kirsten Nelson. She expressed, "One of my absolute favorite memories was finding out that Kirsten and I were in the same building. And we were on the same side of the street. We could both go out to our balconies, and wave and talk to each other from two floors apart. She was like four, maybe five apartments down."
She continued, "But it's still hilarious. We did it a couple of times, actually. We have friends in Vancouver who would come by and be like, Hey, I'm down on the sidewalk. We'd come out at least have a conversation from our balconies."
Kirsten Nelson On Filming Psych 3 During COVID-19
The infamous Karen Vick actor, Kirsten Nelson, told us how proud she was that they were able to pull off the production during the pandemic. She said, "The fact that we were able to do this during this time, a COVID, that's what made me surprised. I was like, Okay, what are the protocols that are going to be there. It wasn't just about the script, the script we read, and we saw, It's a smaller one because of our trust in this family, in these people that we created. We didn't need to have a big show."
Nelson continued, "We didn't have to have a gazillion guest stars at a million locations we knew our bench is pretty solid, these characters that we've known and loved for almost 16 years now, we can explore them. It was exciting."
Her excitement and passion for Psych helped alleviate some of the pressure that came with filming during COVID-19. While she recounted the same quarantine experience, she shared that it "didn't matter." Nelson said, "It didn't matter where we were or what we had to do in order to get home. We were just super psyched to be home and putting on a suit, and some heels again."
Psych 3: This Is Gus is currently streaming on Peacock.