WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie

Summary

• Sharona Fleming does not appear in Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie, except for a brief flashback scene.
• The film pays tribute to Sharona's character through a flashback to the first episode of the series.
• Although Sharona is not physically present in the movie, her character is acknowledged through mentions of her marriage and child with Randy.

Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram) is not in Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie apart from one very small scene. Fourteen years after the events of Mr. Monk and the End, Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) has to come out of retirement to solve a murder case that could not be more personal to him. The Monk movie serves as a reunion for the cast of the Emmy-winning procedural TV show, and it sees the returns of names like Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), Randy Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), and Dr. Nevel Bell (Hector Elizondo).

Although Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie features most of the show’s core characters, those who watched the earliest Monk’s regular cast of characters.

Sharona Only Appears In Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie In A Flashback

Sharona does appear in the Monk movie, but only in a flashback. Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie opens with a flashback to the very first episode of the series – "Mr. Monk and the Candidate." Mr. Monk’s Last Case’s opening sequence was part of a larger storyline that saw Monk trying to get a book about his career published, but it served as a clever way to honor Sharona’s role in the original series. According to Monk creator, Andy Breckman, who also wrote the movie, they “had to be a little selective,” as they would only have 90 minutes to tell the story (via EW).

How Else The Monk Movie Acknowledges Sharona’s Presence

While Sharona does not return in the Monk movie, the film acknowledges her character beyond the “Mr. Monk and the Candidate” flashback. Randy and Sharona got together toward the end of Monk, and with Jason Gray-Stanford’s character returning for the film, it seemed likely that Sharona would be at least namedropped. Sharona was invited to Molly’s wedding, but as explained by Randy, she stayed in New Jersey taking care of her son's baby. In other words, Sharona is now a grandmother.

Considering that the Monk film leaves the door open for possible sequels, it would be interesting to see Sharona be revisited in a potential "Mr. Monk Movie 2." There are other important Monk characters the movie leaves off, such as Adrian’s brother, but Sharona’s friendship with the detective was always one of the best things about the original show. That said, Monk has been about Adrian, Natalie, Randy, and Leland since season 4, and it made sense for Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie to focus on them in this reunion.

Sources: EW