- Title: Psych – Shawn and the Real Girl
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When one of the contestants on a reality dating show is almost killed in an apparent accident the show’s director (Lochlyn Munro) hires Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dulé Hill) to keep him alive and uncover the identity of person who wants one of his stars dead. To go “unnoticed” as they investigate the pair cast themselves contestants on “Paths of Love.”
As Gus tries to win the heart of the bachelorette (Lindsay Sloane) with a little help from the show’s host (Wayne Brady), and Shawn does his best to do nothing that Juliet (Maggie Lawson) will shoot him for, the pair investigate the other contestants (Derek Richardson, the Miz, Corey Sevier) in hope of finding a killer.
Shawn uncovers the ulterior motives of the producer (Greg Grunberg) on the show, as well as uniting the show’s leading lady with the man who is obviously meant for her, but the real killer (Tyronne L’Hirondelle) proves to have a legitimate reason for wanting the show and its producer to fail that has nothing to do with love or fame.
Although the reveal of the killer is far from one of the show’s best the unique aspect of the show taking place on a reality-TV series works well. I would have liked the show to have a little more fun at the expense of the reality-TV dating scene (like they did when they poked fun of American Idol in “American Duos“), but the episode does have some fun moments – the majority of which happen as Shawn and Gus try to outdo each other on camera and Shawn’s more ridiculous outtakes which make an appearance on the show’s reunion show in the episode’s final scene.