Where the Hell Is Bill Lawrence's Apple TV+ Series, 'Bad Monkey'?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | May 7, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | May 7, 2024 |

In 2018, Bill Lawrence signed a huge eight-figure deal with Warner Bros. that he renewed in 2022 with a nine-figure deal (as in, at least $100 million). As part of the original deal, Lawrence produced and created Ted Lasso and, subsequently, a show called Bad Monkey, based on a 2013 Carl Hiaasen novel. With one exception (Undateable), I’ve loved everything that Bill Lawrence has been heavily involved in, so I read the Hiaasen novel in anticipation of the series, which was announced in 2021.

The novel upon which the series is based is okay. It has an Elmore Leonard vibe set in Florida, although it feels like a book that would actually be better as a TV series. It’s about a police detective forced into becoming a restaurant inspector who is investigating the circumstances surrounding a severed arm found by a tourist. Lawrence has assembled an impressive cast, including Vince Vaughn in the lead, which is excellent casting. It also stars Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Meredith Hagner, Rob Delaney, Alex Moffat, and even Lawrence’s daughter, Charlotte.

It’s been three years since the project was announced. Where is Bad Monkey? This is not one of those delays that can be blamed on the writers’ strike. In fact, the first season of Shrinking — currently months into production on the second season — began filming the week after shooting began on Bad Monkey. That was in February 2022.

It’s been two years and two months since filming began. It has almost certainly been edited and ready to go for some time. Lawrence has talked about the show, too — saying that it will “either be a disaster or a success,” and I’m worried that Apple TV+ is sitting on it because they’re worried it’ll be the former. Or it’s the latter and maybe they’re holding it to fill space when they need a big hit. Or maybe Apple TV+ just has so many television shows on the shelf that its number hasn’t been called yet.

All I know is that it’s probably finished and that Bill Lawrence hasn’t publicly spoken about it since March 2023.