For Bill Lawrence and Vince Vaughn, “Bad Monkey” was more than just another show. It was a passion project fueled by an author they both love, Carl Hiaasen.
“Without being a dork, he was so influential for me as a storyteller. I started reading his books when I was a teenager,” Bill Lawrence, the developer and executive producer behind the Apple TV+ original, told TheWrap.
Lawrence has a long history with Florida, the setting behind Hiaasen’s quip-filled and twisted literary thrillers. His parents currently live there, and his aunts and uncles are all fishing guides along the St. Johns River. Given that background and Lawrence’s own sense of humor, it’s only natural he would connect with one of the bestselling novelists in Florida, an author who’s known for his dark comedy as much as his grisly murder mysteries.
“You can draw a straight line from Carl’s banter-driven comedy with all these surreal characters and satire right to ‘Scrubs’ and all the fantasies [in the series],” Lawrence said. “It essentially was a passion project.”
To make the series work for television, Lawrence then added in “like five or six chapters” to the original story, and passed it on to Hiaasen for approval. “He didn’t slap me in the face. It’s like a huge victory,” Lawrence joked.
“I’m a fan of Carl’s. The tone of those books are so great,” Vaughn told TheWrap.
After he learned that Lawrence was interested in adapting a Hiassen story, that was all the convincing Vaughn needed. “I’ve known him for a long time and I’ve always found him to be so funny,” Vaughn said. “I really enjoyed the ride of it, and felt very confident in Bill’s hands to be able to do something that was super fun and great to watch.”
“Bad Monkey” revolves around Andrew Yancy (Vaughn), a fast-talking former police detective who desperately wants to return to his old job. When his old partner Rogelio (John Ortiz) approaches him with a severed arm found off the coast, Yancy decides to take on one more case to prove he should be reinstated. Little does he know that this case will unlock a world filled with greed, corruption and shady figures as it crosses between Florida and the Bahamas. And yes, there is an actual monkey involved.
In addition to the draw Hiaasen and Lawrence provided, Vaughn was also interested in portraying the character of Yancy, a man who is often too smart and talkative for his own good.
“There’s an engine to him, which I think is grounded in myth with the trickster [archetype] that, despite the obvious odds and hills to climb, he somehow believes he can pull this off. I really love that the character is so resilient. Failure after failure, door shut after door shut, he’s just going to keep a good attitude and keep moving forward,” Vaughn said. “I look for stuff that I think would be fun, that would be exciting to play. This was definitely a great character with a great journey.”
Hiaasen has authored several books that have resonated with Lawrence, from “Skinny Dip” to “Razor Girl.” But there was something about the character of Yancy that has stuck with him.
“I really like characters that have a humanity underneath them, but they can’t get out of their own way,” Lawrence said. “They always get hung up too much on what justice means to them. It’s Dr Cox. It’s Roy Kent. It’s Jason Segel’s character, Jimmy, in ‘Shrinking.’ To have Vince do that with Carl’s machine gun-paced banter is just so fun.”
When it comes to a comedic actor as skilled as Vaughn, Lawrence has noticed that sometimes fans and journalists make the mistake of thinking most of his lines are improvised. Lawrence emphasized that though some improv does occur, Vaughn was always “so kind and respectful” on set.
“He does every line for the writers and the directors the way it’s written because he can really act, and he really takes it seriously. Then once we’ve got that, he goes, ‘Hey, let’s play a little,’” Lawrence said. “He’s such a mentor and a collaborator with the other actors and actresses.”
That was the case when it came to Lawrence’s own daughter, Charlotte. Though the younger Lawrence has had experience as a singer-songwriter and model “Bad Monkey” marked her first time acting. Charlotte Lawrence stars as Caitlin, a recovering addict who is Eve’s (Meredith Hagner) stepdaughter.
“My biggest memory that I haven’t even spoken about is, my daughter’s a neophyte actress, though she’s a very successful musician and performer. Watching Vince in between takes talk to her about comedy and giving her some hints of what to do, it was so cool. It set the tone for the set,” Lawrence said.
The first two episodes of “Bad Monkey” are currently available to stream on Apple TV+. New episodes premiere on Wednesdays.
