Curt Smith’s guest appearance in Psych 3: This Is Gus solved a mystery that’s lingered since the show’s 100th episode in Psych season 6. Curt Smith, the lead singer of 1980s synth-pop band Tears for Fears, was one of a handful of recurring Psych characters to come back for the third reunion movie. Smith, who missed out on the last two movies, hasn’t been involved with Psych since its zombie episode in season 8. His return now provides some sought-after answers about his absence for longtime fans of the franchise.
Similar to the previous reunion movies, the latest team-up between Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) and Gus (Dulé Hill) featured notable cameos from familiar faces tied to the show’s eight-season run. Woody the Coroner (Kurt Fuller), Buzz McNabb (Sage Brocklebank), Father Westley (Ray Wise), and Curt Smith were all featured briefly in Psych 3: This Is Gus. In the case of Smith, the movie marked the singer’s fourth cameo as himself in the Psych franchise. He first appeared in a season 5 episode where he had a humorous run-in with Shawn, who turned out to be a huge fan of Tears for Fears.
Curt Smith showing up in Psych 3: This Is Gus answered a question that fans have been asking since his second cameo, which was in Psych’s 100th episode. At the end of the Clue tribute, Smith – one of the guests at the mansion where the story was set – was attacked by a panther offscreen. It didn’t show what happened, but he could be heard screaming. His fate was never confirmed in the show. Smith did make another cameo in season 8’s “Nightmare on State Street”, but that scene turned out to be a hallucination experienced by Gus. For this reason, fans have long joked about Curt Smith’s status on the show. His last canon appearance being the episode where he was mauled by the panther has left many with the impression that the singer was actually killed off.
The loose end that Psych left with Curt Smith in season 7 was seemingly acknowledged by Shawn toward the end of the movie when Gus set up a video call with Smith on his laptop. Upon seeing Smith, Shaw immediately blurted out, “you’re alive!” Even though Shawn already discussed Smith with Gus in a previous scene, this still came off as a reference to the mystery that Psych – perhaps unintentionally – created by waiting so long to confirm Curt Smith’s fate.
Smith’s long absence from Psych can be attributed at least partially to scheduling issues, as Psych creator Steve Franks has stated before that a Tears for Fears tour stood in the way of a role in Psych: The Movie. Now that Psych 3: This Is Gus has once and for all confirmed that Curt Smith survived his close encounter with the panther in the 100th episode, the door is open for more cameos from the singer. If Peacock greenlights Psych 4, Smith could once again have a part to play in the duo’s shenanigans.