Bad Monkey Series Review

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“Bad Monkey” is based on the novel of the same name, written by Carl Hiassen. It’s a comedic crime thriller, as is the show, which… has a great soundtrack! The title says a lot. It should say a severely underused monkey and a somewhat bad show, but okay, I won’t be that harsh. It’s just not enough of cute Crystal the Monkey from “Hangover 2” and “Night at the Museum” and more of the same from Vince Vaughn, who plays Andrew Yancy.

Writer and producer Bill Lawrence has the title of creator here. Fresh off being the showrunner of the hit series “Shrinking,” and before that, “Ted Lasso,” you’d think he could do no wrong. He was also showrunner for “Scrubs” and executive producer of “Spin City,” which explains some of the actors popping into “Bad Monkey,” but those faces can’t save this snoozefest. I don’t know; maybe I expected too much. I love everything he has previously done and I had anticipated this new series to have resemblant features and nuance of his previous work. I can’t put all that on Lawrence. Nor can you. Lower your expectations a bit, and you might like this more than I did.

“Bad Monkey” has a narrator telling you what things you may have missed or need to know, such as “Trouble always came looking for him.” This is done by a smooth-talking Tom Nowicki (Remember the Titans), who adds something to the atmosphere. Nowicki also plays Captain Fitzpatrick, a friend of Yancy’s, Key West ex-detective, now turned food inspector. Perhaps Yancy shouldn’t have attacked the husband of his ex-girlfriend, Bonnie, Michelle Monaghan from “Gone Baby Gone,” or he’d still be on the force. More on that is highlighted throughout the show.

Yancy desperately wants to get back into the detective game, especially after being given a severed arm to find the owner of. He takes it to the coroner, Rosa (Natalie Martinez), who, in episode four, he ends up having sex with on a table or “the slab” in the morgue. When it happens, you somehow aren’t surprised, even wondering how it had taken so long into the series for it to occur.

The show is filled with a lot or maybe too many characters you have to keep straight, but you’ll manage as the actors are all given charismatic traits to apply, and they do it well. Neville (Ronald Peet) attempts to save the house he lives in, the one his father built with his own hands. But the house sits on beachfront property and developers want this prime land for themselves. Neville is the owner of Driggs, the adorable little monkey that gets into everyone’s business. Neville goes to the Dragon Queen, played by Jodie Turner-Smith from “White Noise,” for some help. Maybe she can put a curse on them to help him out of his dilemma. These two make the show, but for some reason, it’s centered around Yancy and his shenanigans of trying to get back into law enforcement and his attempts to make sure the massive house built near his property doesn’t sell.

Even as one-dimensional and overlapping as some of the characters are, moving in and out of certain scenes is what makes the series work. So, I must say, it’s time Vaughn moved on from the fool who blathers on to get the girl. It’s unbelievable now as a working strategy. All things considered, “Bad Monkey” is worth a watch. Again, don’t expect it to be winning any Emmy Awards and it wasn’t the show I thought it would be. The drama is better than the comedy. Going in knowing that, I think you’ll enjoy the series.

Will there be a second season? Let me know what you think.

*Episodes one and two come out today with the rest following on subsequent Wednesdays until it is put to rest with episode ten on October ninth.