Monk premiered over 22 years ago with a two-part episode called Mr. Monk and the Candidate, it told viewers everything they needed to know about what the show was going to be like. Given how many great Monk episodes there were, plus the fact that the show ran for eight seasons, it can be easy to forget how strong of a start the series had. Monk did not take too long to become a fan-favorite and bring in significant viewership numbers, with the show also earning a lot of awards and securing eight Emmy wins out of 18 nominations.

https://screenrant.com/mr-monk-candidate-episode-first-scene-crime-set-up-show/