Psych: The Origin Of Shawn & Gus’ “C’mon Son” Explained

“C’mon son!” was a major running gag in Psych, but what’s the story behind this line? This phrase, which was used briefly in a season 4 episode, was spoken frequently by both Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dulé Hill) in the last three seasons of the USA series.

Between season 6 and season 8, both Shawn and Gus made constant use of the line, “C’mon son!”; it was even used on rare occasions by Gus’ season 7 girlfriend, Rachael (Parminder Nagra). In several situations, Shawn and Gus would say it back to each other while arguing. As Psych drew closer to the end, Shawn and Gus began to drop the line at least once nearly every episode, and at times, it would be used even more than that. It was predictably brought back in the 2017 reunion film, Psych: The Movie, which was released three years after the series wrapped up its eighth and final season in 2014.

Where did this line come from, and why did it suddenly become so important to the show in season 6? “C’mon son!” is the catchphrase of Ed Lover, a rapper whose music was popular in the 1990s. He popularized the line after using it in a hip hop show he hosted on MTV called Yo! MTV Raps Today. It was generally used by Ed Lover as a criticism for an action that he perceived as stupid or foolish, which is the same way it was utilized by Shawn and Gus on Psych.

The characters didn’t make regular use of Ed Lover’s catchphrase until Psych season 6, episode 2, titled “Late Night Gus.” When Shawn, Gus, Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), Woody (Kurt Fuller) woke up one morning after being drugged and with no memory of what happened the night before, Shawn found himself wearing a gold chain. Later in the episode, Ed Lover (played by himself) walked into Chief Vick’s office and accused Shawn of stealing his chain. After Shawn denied the accusation, Ed Lover replied with the iconic line. Lover repeated “C’mon son!” in his second guest appearance on the show, when he played a bailiff in Psych season 8’s remake episode. In this scene, Ed Lover had to haul Gus out of the courtroom when he was stalling for time.

It was right after Ed Lover’s first Psych cameo that his famous catchphrase evolved into a recurring joke for Shawn and Gus in the USA series. It was added to the list of frequently-used jokes on Psych, which also included Shawn’s “I’ve heard it both ways” excuse for being wrong, Shawn’s fake names for Gus, Shawn’s obsession with Val Kilmer, and more. The large number of running gags on Psych was a big part of the show’s humor and appeal.

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