Bill Lawrence's film adaptation of Bad Monkey, based on Carl Hiaasen's 2013 comedy novel, is a long-standing passion project for the successful producer and will premiere soon. Apple TV+ has now shown the first trailer for the series.
The Florida-set mystery drama tells the story of Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn), a former Miami police detective whose transfer to the Keys quickly led to his being taken off the force to work as a health inspector.
When a privileged tourist hooks a human arm during a fishing trip, Yancy is drawn into a murder mystery whose solution he believes could get him back his badge.
L. Scott Caldwell, Rob Delaney, Meredith Hagner, Natalie Martinez, Alex Moffat, Michelle Monaghan, Ronald Peet, and a capuchin monkey playing the titular primate make up the comically large ensemble of strange characters connected to the case.
Guest stars include Scrubs actor and repeat Lawrence collaborator Zach Braff, Ashley Nicole Black, Scott Glenn, John Ortiz and Lawrence's singer-songwriter daughter, Charlotte Lawrence. Bad Monkey is the television debut of the young Lawrence.
The 10-episode series will air weekly until October 9 after the first two episodes air on Wednesday, August 14. It's an auspicious premiere date for Apple TV+, which is fresh off the hit series Presumed Innocent, which was recently renewed for a second season.
Like Presumed Innocent, Bad Monkey is part of the crop of series that Apple managed to film before 2023 hit for a rather lavish 2024 calendar.
Lawrence's third series on Apple TV+, following hit series Ted Lasso and sequel Shrinking, Bad Monkey also comes from Warner Bros Television and Lawrence's Doozer Productions.
Despite an extensive catalog of mystery novels, which have been the subject of efforts to develop them, this is Hiassan's first television film adaptation. One of his children's books, Hoot, was made into a film in 2006.