Vince Vaughn Carries Apple TV+’s Summer Murder Mystery In Bad Monkey

In Bad Monkey, Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn) was released from the Miami Police department and is now a health inspector in the Keys. When he discovers a case that begins with a human arm fished up by tourists, he realizes this is his shot at redemption. If he can prove this murder case, he could get his old job back. He just needs to surpass some Floridian oddballs, an unstable fling, and one bad monkey. The series is based on the bestselling novel by Carl Hiaasen and is directed by Bill Lawrence, following his work on the Apple TV+ success Ted Lasso.

This summertime murder mystery is the perfect August release. With a killer soundtrack and original theme song, Bad Monkey grabs you right from the start. The gruff narration style keeps the story moving while occasionally breaking the fourth wall in a cheeky way. While the story does grip you from the start, it is difficult to start piecing things together until the fourth episode when the three individual storylines start to converge.

While Bad Monkey has all of the elements of a murder mystery, it does play out in a more crime procedural way with elements of dark humor. By no means would I classify this series as a comedy. Vince Vaughn does showcase his famous fast talking, witty banter, and sarcasm skills, but it doesn’t land in a laugh out loud kind of way. He is captivating as Andrew Yancy and truly is the shining star of the series.

In the series, there are romantic flings, a manatee cameo, and the even present looming idea of greed — but, for a series titled Bad Monkey, I wanted to see way more monkey! While included in a few scenes, the monkey doesn’t play any integral role to the story or unfolding events.

There is a very artistic use of flashbacks that may be a bit jarring for those who do not like highly saturated or filtered visuals. The past serves a very important role in this story, but the color grading is a bit excessive for those following the story closely. The dual storylines would have worked just as well with date titles before the scenes.

While the case is burst open about halfway through the season, you don’t get to see the criminal caught until the very end. The stakes don’t feel very high and the show has an anticlimactic ending as Yancy inevitably lands exactly where you expect. It’s a fun summer watch to live out your holiday fantasies in a White Lotus-style way, but lacks the charm of a charismatic ensemble. There is an attempt for a season two renewal with a clear but open ending to the show, although it doesn’t seem necessary.

Bad Monkey is streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes dropping Wednesdays.