Bad Monkey

Premise

Andrew Yancy is a former police detective who has been reduced to conducting restaurant inspections in South Florida. A severed arm found by a tourist pulls Yancy into a world of greed and corruption that decimates the land and environment in both Florida and the Bahamas.

Cast

Main

Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a one-time detective turned restaurant inspector

L. Scott Caldwell as Ya-Ya, Dragon Queen's grandmother

Rob Delaney as Nick Stripling, Eve's husband and "Christopher", Eve's boyfriend after a fake drowning (Season 1)

Meredith Hagner as Eve Stripling, the wife of fake drowning victim Nick Stripling (season 1)

Natalie Martinez as Rosalba "Rosa" Campesino, a medical examiner from Miami who helps Andrew Yancy, and becomes his lover

Alex Moffat as Evan Shook, a real estate developer designing a mansion next to Yancy's property

Michelle Monaghan as Bonnie Witt / Plover Chase, a woman in an abusive marriage with a secret past

Ronald Peet as Neville Stafford, a young Bahamian fisherman

Jodie Turner-Smith as Dragon Queen / Gracie, an Obeah–practicing woman living in Andros, Bahamas (season 1)

John Malkovich as Spencer (season 2)

John Ortiz as Rogelio (season 2; recurring season 1), a police detective and Yancy's best friend

Charlotte Lawrence as Caitlin (season 2; recurring season 1), a model, recovering addict, and Eve's stepdaughter

Yvonne Strahovski as Delaney (season 2)

Recurring

Todd Allen Durkin as Sheriff Sonny Summers, a witless local cop and boss of Yancy

Nina Grollman as Madeline, a naive young woman, former girlfriend to Charles Phinney

Tom Nowicki as Captain Fitzpatrick / Narrator

Lauren Buglioli as Heather, a popular meteorologist in Miami, known for her "Heather with the Weather" segment

Victor Turpin as Montenegro, Rogelio's husband, Yancy's lawyer and close friend

David St. Louis as Egg, a native of Andros, muscle for Nick Stripling

Gizel Jiménez as Mel Campesino, Rosa's sister, later known as "Hurricane Mel"

Reese Antoinette as Dawnie, Neville's ex-girlfriend

Ashley Nicole Black as Johnna Russell, an agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau, pursuing Bonnie

Gonzalo Menendez as Mendez, a corrupt cop in Miami

Scott Glenn as Jim Yancy, Andrew Yancy's father

Bob Clendenin as K.J. Claspers, a pilot who works for the Striplings

Alex MacNicoll as Cody, a former student of Bonnie's with whom she had a sexual relationship

Arian Cartaya as Sam O'Peele

Sam Jaeger (season 2)

Guest

Zach Braff as Israel "Izzy" O'Peele, Nick's best friend and business partner

Episodes

Production

In December 2018, Bill Lawrence's Doozer Productions signed an eight-figure five-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. In August 2021, the two studios announced the development of Bad Monkey, a 10-episode drama series based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen, with Vince Vaughn starring and Apple TV+ distributing. In December 2021, Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Meredith Hagner joined the cast. In January 2022, Ana Villafañe, Rob Delaney, Ahmed Elhaj, Arturo Luis Soria, and Alex Moffat were added to the cast. In March 2022, Natalie Martinez was cast as a series regular to replace Villafañe because, according to Deadline Hollywood, "the character had been written older than Villafañe's age, leading to the decision to replace her." In April, L. Scott Caldwell and Charlotte Lawrence were reported to star, with Ronald Peet taking over Elhaj's role. In June, it was announced John Ortiz had been cast to replace Soria in the series.

Filming began in February 2022, in the Florida Keys and Miami, Florida. Filming locations included Blue Springs in Orange City and Duval Street, Key West. In December 2024, Apple TV+ renewed the series for a second season, with production moving from Florida Keys and Miami to Los Angeles. In August 2025, John Malkovich was cast as a series regular for the second season. In September 2025, Ortiz was promoted as a series regular while Yvonne Strahovski joined the cast as a new series regular for the second season. In October 2025, Sam Jaeger and Nate Jackson were cast in recurring capacities, Martinez was announced to return as a series regular and Charlotte Lawrence was promoted to a series regular for the second season. In November 2025, Brent Morin, Peter Billingsley, and June Diane Raphael joined the cast in recurring roles for the second season. In January 2026, Keyla Monterroso Mejia and Mo Amer were cast in recurring capacities for the second season.

Stalking Incident

During production in February of 2026, Lamar Roman, a Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputy working to provide security for the set and crew, began stalking one of the actresses. He accessed the DAVID and MNI databases to retrieve information about his target. Lamar used the information collected in the automated license plate reader system to track his victim, later perform a traffic stop on her. Roman was charged with three counts of the misuse of the systems and fired from the sheriff's office. In a negotiated deferred prosecution package, he was assigned therapy, ordered not to contact the victim, and community service.

Release

Bad Monkey premiered on August 14, 2024, on Apple TV+, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until October 9, 2024.

The second season is set to premiere on December 2, 2026.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 93% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 70 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A vibrant riff on the P.I. serials of television's yesteryear, Bad Monkey is a breezy good time that fully leverages Vince Vaughn's motormouth charms." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 74 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".