“We laughed all day”: Bill Lawrence and cast on Bad Monkey

Based on the novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen, Bad Monkey is a new series from creator Bill Lawrence, which stars Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a former detective with the Miami police who now works in the Florida Keys as a restaurant inspector. The series pushes Yancy back into the criminal game when he stumbles on a case of a dredged-up human arm found on a fishing expedition, and soon becomes part of the investigative team.

Through the series, other stories are underpinned by a voice narrator and slowly become intertwined. These include Rob Delany in a role as a property developer keen to purchase land that forces beach-shack owner Neville (Roland Peet) and his pet monkey to sell up, Jodie Turner-Smith as a voodoo goddess called The Dragon Queen and Michelle Monaghan as Yancy’s on-off girlfriend Bonnie.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking to showrunner and series creator about his choice to make this project, having his daughter star in it as her first TV feature and working alongside Vaughn as part of the production team too.

Meredith Hagner and Charlotte Lawrence spoke to us about the characters they take on as strained daughter and stepmother, how they found it on set, and what it was like working alongside a fantastic ensemble cast.

Natalie Martinez chatted to us about prepping for her role as a mortician and forging an on-screen relationship with Vaughn as her co-star.

We spoke to Ronald Peet about his role as Neville, what it was like working with a monkey on set, and having spiritual experiences on-screen with The Dragon Queen.

Ezelle Alblas

Bad Monkey is released on Apple TV+ on 14^th August 2024.

Watch the trailer for Bad Monkey here: