How Vince Vaughn and Bill Lawrence’s Friendship Created ‘Bad Monkey’ on Apple TV+

Vince Vaughn first met Bill Lawrence more than 25 years ago, so when the opportunity to collaborate on the cop comedy “Bad Monkey” arose, Vaughn was eager to join the project.

“We just laughed a lot,” Vaughn commented at the Apple TV+ show’s premiere. Speaking about his collaboration with Bill Lawrence, creator of hits like “Spin City” and “Ted Lasso,” Vaughn added, “He’s got such good ideas. He welcomes ideas. It was easy.”

Lawrence, known for often working with friends and family, seems to enjoy these collaborations the most. On the sand-colored carpet outside the Hammer Museum in Westwood, his daughter, singer-songwriter Charlotte Lawrence, strolled past him.

Initially, Bill Lawrence was hesitant to cast his daughter, though he acknowledged her talent.

“She’s a very confident young lady, but then I started to panic,” Lawrence revealed. “Social media is tough; it’s tricky. But she handled that stuff so often and with an open heart. And I mean she was good. She was awesome. I’d do it again. I’m telling you this — if you get to a point in any job where you can hire your friends or your family, do it immediately.”

Lawrence also brought on board Zach Braff, star of his previous show “Scrubs.” “I didn’t even cast him. I just said, ‘Yo, you want to play a doctor again, but this time it’s a little more graphically dark?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, okay,’” Lawrence recalled. “I got so lonely in Florida, it was nice to have him.”

“Bad Monkey” stars Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a former Miami Police Department detective turned health inspector in the Florida Keys. The story unfolds when tourists discover a human arm in the water, prompting Yancy to solve the mystery in hopes of reclaiming his former position on the force.

The Apple TV+ series is based on Carl Hiaasen’s novel of the same name, which piqued Vaughn’s interest due to its distinctive tone. “I was really looking for something that had fun personalities, that had cool twists and turns, that had people going through these experiences,” Vaughn explained.

Natalie Martinez, who plays Yancy’s ex-colleague at the police department, joined the project because she had long admired Vaughn. “He’s definitely one of our living legends in this genre. He’s so brilliant in what he does. The fact that I’m able to go head to head with him is truly an honor,” Martinez stated.

The role offered Martinez a unique chance to highlight her Cuban American heritage and South Florida roots.

“I was actually able to use my accent and a lot of things that are true to me,” she noted. “Usually, I have to kind of suppress or hide a little bit, or just change because the roles don’t call for it. I was really excited to play someone that was so close to home. I relate so much with the Cuban culture, yet I wasn’t born there. I feel like we need a voice too.”

The first two episodes of “Bad Monkey” are set to stream on Apple TV+ starting Aug. 14, with new episodes rolling out every Wednesday through Oct. 9.

Source: Variety