List of Psych characters

This is a list of characters in the USA Network original comedy-drama TV series, Psych. The principal cast of the series has remained the same throughout the series. However, various recurring characters have appeared over the course of the show's run.

Name	Portrayed by	Occupation/Status	Seasons
Shawn Spencer	James Roday	Private consultant to the SBPD	1-present
Burton "Gus" Guster	Dulé Hill	Private consultant to the SBPD and Shawn's best friend	1-present
Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter	Timothy Omundson	SBPD head detective	1-present
Juliet "Jules" O'Hara	Maggie Lawson	SBPD junior detective; Lassiter's partner	1-present
Chief Karen Vick	Kirsten Nelson	SBPD interim chief (2006–2008); SBPD chief (2008–present)	1 (recurring), 2-present (main)
Henry Spencer	Corbin Bernsen	Shawn's father; former SBPD sergeant; SBPD head of consultants (2010–present)	1-present

Young Shawn Spencer
File:YoungShawnSpencer.jpg Young Shawn, portrayed by Liam James
First appearance	"Pilot" (1.01)
Portrayed by	Josh Hayden (2006) Kyle Pejpar (2006) Liam James (2006-2010) James Roday (2008) Skyler Gisondo (2010-present)
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Relatives	Henry Spencer (father) Madeleine Spencer (mother) Jack Spencer (uncle)

Young Shawn (portrayed by Liam James in the majority of appearances) is the younger version of Shawn Spencer. He is almost always shown learning life lessons from his father, usually tying in to the main events of the episode. The character always appears in flashbacks to the late 80's or early 90's.

Young Burton Guster
File:YoungBurtonGuster.jpg Carlos McCullers II as Young Gus
First appearance	"Spellingg Bee" (1.02)
Portrayed by	Isaah Brown (2006-2007) Carlos McCullers II (2007-present)
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Relatives	Bill Guster (father) Winnie Guster (mother) Burton Guster (uncle) Joy Guster (sister) Unnamed Brother

Young Gus (portrayed by Carlos McCullers II in the majority of appearances) is the younger version of Gus. He almost always appears with Young Shawn, occasionally learning life lessons from Henry as well. The character always appears in flashbacks to the late 80's or early 90's.

Officer Buzz McNab
First appearance	"Pilot" (1.01)
Portrayed by	Sage Brocklebank
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Santa Barbara police officer
Spouse	Francine McNab

Officer Buzz McNab (Sage Brocklebank) is a member of the SBPD, working occasionally with Detectives Lassiter and O'Hara, and sometimes with Shawn and Gus. McNab is a naive, lovable cop who is always eager to please Lassiter, though Lassiter doesn't always treat him well.

He has a wife, Francine, whom he married in the first season, and a pet cat.

In the first season episode 9 Lives (1.05), McNab, in preparation for his wedding, called a 1-800 stress-line, leading to an attempt on his life. By the fourth season, he had already had two more brushes with death, including being wounded by an exploding mailbox in Shawn Gets the Yips (4.05), and being drugged by a serial killer in Mr. Yin Presents (4.16).

Madeleine Spencer
First appearance	"Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead" (2.16) (cameo) "Ghosts" (3.01)
Portrayed by	Cybill Shepherd
In-universe information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Police psychologist
Spouse	Henry Spencer (ex-husband)
Children	Shawn Spencer
Relatives	Jack Spencer (ex-brother-in-law)

Madeleine Spencer (Cybill Shepherd) is Shawn's mother and Henry's ex-wife. She has an eidetic memory, which she passed on to her son.

In her first main appearance, Ghosts (3.01), she returned to Santa Barbara as a police psychologist. She explained to Shawn that she left his father in 1992 to pursue a job opportunity. By her second appearance, in Murder? ... Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller? (3.02), she had begun to spend more time with Henry, even attending their son's high school reunion together.

In the third season finale, An Evening With Mr. Yang (3.16), she is kidnapped by Yang and almost killed by a car bomb. However, she is saved when Shawn identifies Yang and has her arrested. After the ordeal, she shares a kiss with Henry.

In An Evening With Mr. Yang's sequel, Mr. Yin Presents (4.16), she is revealed to be at a conference in New York, where she is safe from Yin's murderous rampage. However, she does not appear in the episode.

Abigail Lytar
First appearance	"Murder? ... Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller?" (3.02)
Portrayed by	Rachael Leigh Cook
In-universe information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Elementary school teacher

Abigail Lytar (Rachael Leigh Cook) is Shawn's ex-girlfriend.

She first appeared in Murder? ... Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller? (3.02) at Shawn and Gus's high school reunion. It is revealed that she had been stood-up by Shawn at a high school dance, when he left her standing alone on a pier. Together, they solve the murder of one of their former classmates. In An Evening With Mr. Yang (3.16), Gus accuses Shawn of not being able to keep a steady relationship. He then proceeds to call Abigail, immediately asking her on a date. Over the course of the episode, however, he is forced to keep pushing the time back as he struggles to capture Yang. Finally, the two share their first real date at a drive-in theater in Gus's car (though Gus stays in the backseat the entire time).

Abigail returned in the fourth season in the episode He Dead (4.02), wanting to meet Henry for the first time. However, Shawn attempts to prevent it, claiming that his relationship with his father is already strained. Despite his attempts, the two finally meet, and get along very well, much to Shawn's surprise. Abigail returned again in Bollywood Homicide (4.06), in which Shawn invites her to a crime scene. When Lassiter embarrasses Shawn in front of Abigail, Shawn becomes determined to solve the case, and eventually does. In the summer finale, You Can't Handle This Episode (4.10), Abigail reveals to Shawn that she is moving to Uganda for six months, and that she wants to put their relationship on hold until she visits in February.

When Abigail returns from Uganda in Mr. Yin Presents (4.16), she is met with an unwelcome surprise. Upon her arrival at the airport, Officer McNab picks her up, due to Shawn's preoccupation with catching Yin. Immediately, McNab is drugged, and Abigail is kidnapped by Yin. After Yin ties her to the bottom of the pier (where Shawn stood her up in high school), Shawn is issued an ultimatum: rescue Juliet or rescue Abigail. He chooses Abigail, and barely succeeds in saving her life. However, immediately afterward, she tells Shawn she can't take the stress of his job any longer, and breaks up with him.

Winnie Guster
First appearance	"Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" (2.10)
Portrayed by	Phylicia Rashad
In-universe information
Gender	Female
Spouse	Bill Guster (m. 1979)
Children	Burton Guster Joy Guster Unnamed Son
Relatives	Burton Guster (brother-in-law)

Winnie Guster (Phylicia Rashad) is the mother of Gus.

She first appeared in Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy (2.10), in which Shawn and Henry visit the Gusters for Christmas. She, along with her husband, was arrested for the murder of their neighbor. It was believed that they murdered him after it was revealed that she was being blackmailed for insurance fraud, and that Mr. Guster had been having an ongoing feud with the deceased. Shawn is determined to solve the case, due to their dislike of him. They blame him for being a negative influence on Gus. However, he solves the murder, revealing that it was not in any way connected to them. They are grateful, and finally accept Shawn.

Mrs. Guster returned in Christmas Joy (3.09). Shawn, Gus, and her daughter Joy all stayed with the Gusters for the holidays. It was made known that she had used a bookie to place one bet, and had lost most of her savings. However, her family forgave her, and she forgave her family for all the mistakes that they made as well.

Bill Guster
First appearance	"Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" (2.10)
Portrayed by	Ernie Hudson (2007) Keith David (2008)
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Unemployed
Spouse	Winnie Guster (m. 1979)
Children	Burton Guster Joy Guster Unnamed Son
Relatives	Burton Guster (brother)

Bill Guster (Ernie Hudson and Keith David) is the father of Gus.

He first appeared in Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy (2.10), in which Shawn and Henry visit the Gusters for Christmas. He, along with his wife, was arrested for the murder of their neighbor. It was believed that they murdered him after it was revealed that he was having an ongoing feud with the deceased. Shawn is determined to solve the case, due to their dislike of him. They blame him for being a negative influence on Gus. However, he solves the murder, revealing that it was not in any way connected to them. They are grateful, and finally accept Shawn.

Mr. Guster returned in Christmas Joy (3.09). Shawn, Gus, and his daughter Joy all stayed with the Gusters for the holidays. It was made known that he had lost his job months earlier, and had been looking for a job during the days ever since. However, his family forgave him, and he forgave his family for all the mistakes that they made as well.

Mr. Yang
First appearance	"An Evening With Mr. Yang" (3.16)
Portrayed by	Ally Sheedy
In-universe information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Serial killer, inmate

Mr. Yang (Ally Sheedy) is a serial killer who murdered her first victim in 1995. That year, she killed six people after a game of cat-and-mouse with each of them. Over the next 14 years, she killed two others, and was still not caught, nor her identity revealed.

In An Evening With Mr. Yang (3.16), she returned, this time, to play her game with Shawn Spencer. After Henry's adamant protests to the contrary, Shawn accepts her proposition, vowing to bring her to justice. She first kidnapped Shawn and Gus's waitress and held her hostage. After leaving several cryptic clues for Shawn, the hostage was finally returned, but replaced with Shawn's mother, Madeleine. After strapping a bomb to Madeleine, Yang sat and watched as the SBPD swarmed a drive-in theater looking for her. Shawn found her car, and she finally came face-to-face with her target. She revealed to Shawn that she was going to write a book about them, and was finally arrested.

When Shawn and Gus speak to Mary (a psychologist who helped bring Yang to justice) a year later, in Mr. Yin Presents (4.16), he reveals that it would be impossible for Yang to work alone, and proposed that she was working with a Yin. He discerns this from Yang's book, entitled From Serial Dater to Serial Killer: How Murder Kept Me Skinny. Mary's theory proves to be true, and Shawn, Gus, and Mary proceed to visit Yang in her tiny cell at an asylum. She is being held in a completely white and grey cell, due to her tendencies toward violence when exposed to color. While there, Yang admits to working with a Yin. She says, "If you think I'm sick, you ain't seen nothing yet." This proves to be true, as Yin (representing chaos) has no rules.

Mr. Yin
First appearance	"Mr. Yin Presents" (4.16)
Portrayed by	Christopher Turner
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Serial killer

Mr. Yin (Christopher Turner) is Yang's counterpart and former partner, and is even more murderous than she. He is evidently obsessed with the films of Alfred Hitchcock, as his murders are always taken right out of a Hitchcock film.

Yin first appeared in Mr. Yin Presents (4.16). His existence was unknown until then, when Mary Lightly proposed that Yang had a partner during the events of An Evening With Mr. Yang (3.16). He begins murdering people, starting with Shawn, Gus, and Mary's waitress, who served them pie. He arranges the body (with two rocks) into a Yin/Yang symbol. Mary warns that, while Yang followed a set of rules, Yin would not. He said that once a person discovered the rules of Yin, the rules would change. This proves to be true very soon, when Yin murders Mary, just as "Mother" kills Detective Arbogast in Psycho. Yin flees, and then "casts" Shawn, Gus, Lassiter, Juliet, and Henry as "archetypal characters from Hitchcock's canon." While there, he kidnaps Juliet. He then travels to the airport, where McNab is picking up Abigail. Yin drugs McNab and kidnaps Abigail, forcing Shawn to choose which one he wants to save. Yin ties Abigail to the bottom of a pier, and forces Shawn to make another decision: catch Yin or save Abigail. Shawn picks Abigail, and Yin flees, once again. The episode ends with Yin stroking a picture of Yang with a young Shawn.

Mary Lightly
First appearance	"An Evening With Mr. Yang" (3.16)
Last appearance	"Mr. Yin Presents" (4.16)
Portrayed by	Jimmi Simpson
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Criminal psychologist

Mary Lightly (Jimmi Simpson) was a criminal psychologist who was obsessed with the Yin/Yang cases. He also had a fondness for racquetball.

He first appeared in An Evening With Mr. Yang (3.16). In his very first scene, he is forced to explain his name, saying that his "father was named Mary, his father before him was named Mary, and his father before him was named Craig." He has very odd quirks, including a "creepy handshake." After studying the Yang case for 14 years, he returned to Santa Barbara when Yang resurfaced. He provided several insights that were invaluable in catching Yang and bringing him (or rather, her) to justice.

In Mr. Yin Presents (4.16), he visits Shawn and Gus, revealing that he never left Santa Barbara, and reveals his theory that Yang was not working alone. He believes that a Yin exists, and that he is even more murderous than Yang. After following Yin's clues, Shawn and Gus are led to believe that Mary is, in fact, Yin. However, after following him to (what appears to be) an abandoned building, they see him stabbed, just as Martin Balsam in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. He dies in Shawn's arms. In the final scenes of the episode, Shawn, Gus, and an unnamed woman (possibly Mary's mother) are shown attending his racquetball-themed funeral.

Woody the Coroner
First appearance	"High Top Fade Out" (4.07)
Portrayed by	Kurt Fuller
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Coroner

Woody the Coroner (Kurt Fuller) is the quirky coroner for Santa Barbara. He shares many character traits with Shawn.

He made his first appearance in High Top Fade Out. He also appeared in Thrill Seekers and Hell Raisers (4.11), The Head, the Tail, the Whole Damn Episode (4.15), Feet, Don't Kill Me Now (5.02), and Not Even Close... Encounters (5.03).

In Shawn 2.0 (5.08), he revealed that he had a wife. Shawn soon pointed out that she was cheating on him with her personal trainer, and he responded that he had approved. When Shawn pointed out other men in her life, Woody stated that he hadn't approved those particular men.

Declan Rand
First appearance	"Shawn 2.0" (5.08)
Portrayed by	Nestor Carbonell
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Fake criminal profiler Pilot

Declan Rand (Nestor Carbonell) is a fake criminal profiler. With the exception of Gus and Henry, he is the only character who knows Shawn is not psychic.

Declan first appeared in Shawn 2.0 (5.08), in which he was hired by the SBPD to a case Shawn and Gus were already working. He quickly surpassed them, and was given all the credit for the case. Later, however, they discover that he is not really a criminal profiler; he is just extremely rich and is working "for fun." Declan is aware that Shawn is not really a psychic, while Shawn is aware that Declan is not really a criminal profiler. Declan, like Shawn, soon falls for Juliet. Just as Shawn goes to confess to Juliet that he is not really a psychic and ask her out, Declan confesses that he is not really a criminal profiler. Juliet appreciates his honesty, and begins to date him.

In One, Maybe Two, Ways Out (5.09), Shawn and Gus need Declan's assistance in another case. He agrees, but must confess to Juliet every time he helps, to Shawn and Gus's vehement protests. After discovering that Declan is taking Juliet on a two-week vacation, Shawn tells Gus how he feels about Juliet. Juliet overhears everything he says. While visiting Declan, Shawn ends up alone with Juliet. They kiss, for the first time. Declan reenters the room, and Shawn leaves.

The following are characters appearing in multiple episodes in small roles.

• Det. Lucinda Barry (Anne Dudek) is a detective who worked in the SBPD until it was revealed (by Shawn) that she was having a relationship with Lassiter. Barry appeared in the Pilot episode. Dudek did not return to the show for a main role, and the character was written out (without her presence) in the second episode, Spellingg Bee. She was replaced by Juliet O'Hara.
• Pierre Despereaux (Cary Elwes) is an extremely elusive Canadian art thief. He first appeared in Extradition: British Columbia (4.01), when Shawn and Gus travel to Canada to catch him. However, it is revealed that he, in fact, is simply an insurance fraudster. He is set to return in Extradition II: The Actual Extradition Part (5.10).
• Father Westley (Ray Wise) is a priest at a Catholic church. He first appeared in The Devil is in the Details... and the Upstairs Bedroom (4.04) when he was suspected of the murder of a young college girl. However, he is not the killer. He is set to return in Duel Spires (5.12).
• Gina (Sarah Edmondson) is a former girlfriend of Shawn. She appeared in Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark (4.09), in which he called her in an attempt to save his own life. However, she hung up on him, angry that he would call after dumping him. She later appeared in Shawn 2.0 (5.08) when Shawn cannot find a date to a friend's wedding.
• Officer Allen (Patricia Idlette) is a desk sergeant with the SBPD. She believes Shawn can speak to her dead grandmother. She appeared in the Pilot and Woman Seeking Dead Husband: Smokers Okay, No Pets (1.04).