Posted in: Apple, streaming, TV | Tagged: apple tv, bad monkey, Bill Lawrence, ted lasso, vince vaughn

Bad Monkey: Vince Vaughn, Bill Lawrence Team for Carl Hiaasen Adapt

Published Tue, 10 Aug 2021 09:07:11 -0500

Apple TV+ announced today a new 10-episode drama from Emmy Award-nominated writer and executive producer Bill Lawrence (Spin City, Cougar Town) Bad Monkey. Vince Vaughn (Freaky, Brawl in Cell Block 99), will star and executive produce the series. The series, which had been in the works at Apple for a while, is based on Carl Hiaasen's (Strip Tease, Razor Girl) popular 2013 novel Bad Monkey, a New York Times Bestseller and enduring cult favorite. The New York Times called the book "a comedic marvel … beautifully constructed," and "a rollicking misadventure in the colorful annals of greed and corruption in South Florida."

Vaughn will lead the series as Andrew Yancy, a one-time detective demoted to restaurant inspector in Southern Florida. A severed arm found by a tourist out fishing pulls Yancy into the world of greed and corruption that decimates the land and environment in both Florida and the Bahamas. And yes, Apple promises, "there's a monkey." Hailing from Warner Bros. Television, Lawrence, where he is under an overall deal, will write and executive produce Bad Monkey through Doozer Productions alongside Matt Tarses and Jeff Ingold. Liza Katzer will serve as co-executive producer.

The series order for Bad Monkey comes on the heels of the Season 2 premiere of Apple's hit comedy Ted Lasso, co-created and executive produced by Lawrence. The first season of the series, co-created by and starring Jason Sudeikis (We're the Millers, Horrible Bosses), recently landed 20 Emmy nominations, the most ever for a freshman comedy series. As reported by Deadline co-creator Lawrence reacted to the news by saying, "The trickiest thing on this show is to kind of stay true to the Ted Lasso ethos, which is, awards and winning don't matter as much as the people you get to spend time with and work with."

Vaughn, who recently played a middle-aged serial killer body swapped with a teenage girl in the hilariously bloody Freaky, next will be seen in North Hollywood and Queenpins. He is repped by WME, Range Media Partners, and attorney Deborah Klein at Jackoway Austen. Lawrence is repped by ICM Partners and attorney Jared Levine.

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