Bad Monkey is a new Apple TV+ show. What’s it about?
Carl Hiassen novels have long been on the list of things that I’ve been meaning to get to at some point, fun and pulpy beach reads that interlace crime fiction and comedy set in tropical locales around coastal Florida.
With the upcoming premiere of Bad Monkey, Apple TV+ has done me the favor of producing Hiassen’s 2013 novel of the same name for the small screen, and with the inclusion of Vince Vaughn* as the lead role of Andrew Yancy, I’m pretty excited to check it out.
From Apple’s official press release:
Apple TV+ today unveiled the premiere date and a first-look at “Bad Monkey,” the highly anticipated comedy from award-winning executive producer Bill Lawrence (“Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking”) and starring acclaimed actor, producer and screenwriter Vince Vaughn, who also serves as an executive producer. Based on Carl Hiaasen’s New York Times Bestselling novel and enduring cult favorite, the 10-episode series makes its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on August 14, 2024 followed by new episodes every Wednesday through October 9. “Bad Monkey,” tells the story of Andrew Yancy (Vaughn) who has been bounced from the Miami Police Department and is now a health inspector in the Keys. But after stumbling upon a case that begins with a human arm fished up by tourists, he realizes that if he can prove murder, he’ll be back in. He just needs to get past a trove of Floridian oddballs and one bad monkey.
* I greatly enjoyed Andy Greenwald from The Watch podcast likening Vince Vaughn’s role in Bad Monkey as “Fletch-ing it up.”
And if that’s not enough, I have full trust in every project that show creator and executive producer Bill Lawrence is a part of. Bad Monkey adds to the list of highly successful comedy series that he is associated with, including Cougar Town, Scrubs, and Spin City.
I’ve long believed the Vince Vaughn is much better suited for comedic versus dramatic roles. And perhaps Bad Monkey is the perfect TV vehicle for him, where he can balance his worldclass comedic sense of timing and delivery with a grounded enough character that we can invest our time in over the course of a full season of television (or more, perhaps).
In terms of the rest of the Bad Monkey cast, I’m very much impressed. Rob Delaney, who plays Christopher, is one of the best comedic actors in the biz. If you haven’t seen Catastrophe, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Additionally, Meredith Hagner (Eve Stripling) was super fun as Portia Davenport on Search Party.
And I must also give a shout out to John Ortiz (Rogelio), who has been in a ton of things, but was a standout in a recurring role on Togetherness, one of my best 100 TV shows ever.
Bad Monkey: when and where can I watch it?
Bad Monkey premieres on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, August 14th, 2024. The first season is scheduled to have ten episodes.