USA Network’s hit original show Psych, has just been renewed for a fifth season with an upcoming 16 episode order. Created by Steve Franks, Psych may return with original episodes (still from its fourth season) by late January, with the fifth season going forward for next summer.

Psych will face a challenge in January when the second half of its fourth season will run for the first time without its formidable lead-in, the Emmy-winning Monk, which is approaching the end of its eight-season run in December. USA is still finalizing its scheduling plans for January. Psych is slated to return with original episodes starting on January 29th and will remain in its Friday 10 p.m. slot.

In June of last year, Roday was asked how he brings an emotional edge to the show and tries to differentiate from Monk.

“We’ve chosen to accept from our network [was that] ’so you guys want to be the torch bearer for the USA?’ We want you to sort of start adding layers, and one of those layers is the idea of sort of earning our comedy with each episode, sort of giving it an emotional spine,” Roday said.

“One thing that Monk has had from its conception is that his wife was murdered, so they always sort of had that to go back to any time they needed to get, you know, heavy on that show. And we don’t really have that, so it’s sort of like, with each episode we’re sort of coming up with sort of an emotional backbone that launches us into the world and helps sort of balance some of the silly things that we do,” the actor said.

He added: “It’s been good. I think its sort of, its got everybody on their toes. We’re all sort of working muscles that we haven’t necessarily been working in the first couple of seasons, and I think we’re doing, I think we’re doing it. Yeah. Every episode there’s been at least one or two scenes that you’re seeing different sides and all that garbage, doing things that we’ve never done before.”