LONDON: Apple is carving out quite the niche for itself when it comes to its original programming. These shows tend to have a big-name star, high production values, and a story that casts said star slightly against type in an idiosyncratic role that calls out for a later-career-defining performance. Just look at “The Morning Show,” “Severance”, “Shrinking”, “High Desert” and a dozen or so others.
“Bad Monkey”, developed by “Scrubs” and “Ted Lasso” creator Bill Lawrence, shows there is plenty of life in that formula yet. This time round it’s the turn of Vince Vaughn to star as Andrew Yancy, a suspended police detective living in the Florida Keys who winds up embroiled in a murder case involving a missing arm, a crooked property developer and corruption in both Florida and the Bahamas. As a motormouth, world-weary cop, Vaughn delivers his best turn since “Swingers” and he’s ably backed by an ensemble cast that includes Natalie Martinez as a well-intentioned medical examiner, Michelle Monaghan as Yancy’s enigmatic sometime girlfriend, and Rob Delaney as slimy developer Christopher.
Sure, there’s a certain amount of disbelief suspension required — why does such a cynical washout as Yancy feel compelled to pursue the case he’s been taken off? How does a medical examiner from a neighboring county have such wide-ranging access to a murder case, and why are all these people zipping back and forth to the Bahamas with barely a bag inspection?
But you know what? It doesn’t matter. Like a lot of Apple’s series from the last few years, you’ll forgive a show like “Bad Monkey” a lot, because it represents an opportunity to see a charismatic lead in a role stuffed with potential, in a story with real zip and poise — that “Bad Monkey” is adapted from Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 novel of the same name certainly helps in that regard. That big budget has been well spent, too — “Bad Monkey” looks great and, if the first two episodes (available at launch) are anything to go by, it’s set to be another addition to the Apple hall of TV fame.
