Andrew Yancy is a former police detective who has been reduced to conducting restaurant inspections in South Florida. A severed arm found by a tourist pulls Yancy into the world of greed and corruption that decimates the land and environment in both Florida and The Bahamas.
Cast
Main
Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a one-time detective turned restaurant inspector[2]
A severed arm is discovered by a fishing boat off the coast of the Florida Keys. Ex-detective Andrew Yancy, suspended for having assaulted the husband of his lover, is tasked to deliver the arm to the Miami morgue. The arm is identified by Dr. Rosa Campesino as having belonged to Nick Stripling and is returned to his wife Eve. Eve's step-daughter Caitlin believes she killed her father for his money. At a bar, Yancy witnesses Charles Phinney, the first mate of the boat where the arm was found, being shot dead. On Andros Island, resident Neville Stafford consults with the local Obeah, Gracie, known as the "Dragon Queen", to put a curse on the developers seeking to replace his home with a resort. Christopher, the man developing the resort and Eve's new boyfriend, is revealed to have been the one who shot Phinney.
Much to his chagrin, Yancy is given a new job as a restaurant inspector. A conversation with Caitlin leads Yancy to investigate Eve's home alongside an equally suspicious Rosa where the two discover bone fragments in the shower drain. After having his home demolished, Neville, believing that Gracie's curse has failed, leaves the island to see his half-sister. Yancy learns that his lover Bonnie is actually a fugitive from Oklahoma; having fled after having sex with one of her underage students. The Dragon Queen confides to her grandmother that the situation between Neville and Christopher will soon drag many people in.
3
"Nobody Said He Was Alvin Einstein"
Erica Dunton
Matt Tarses
August 21, 2024 (2024-08-21)
T82.10303
Yancy and Rosa interrogate Phinney's girlfriend Madeline, learning that her boyfriend was paid to reel the arm in. Investigating Nick's former workplace, the two visit Dr. Israel O'Peele, who explains his time working with Nick to scam Medicare. Yancy later returns to Israel's apartment only to find the latter dead from a gunshot. Neville returns to Andros and confronts Gracie for her curse failing before parting with his monkey Driggs as a show of faith. Neville then steals a USB drive containing info on the resort project. Caitlin confronts Eve, accusing her of murdering her father only to be stopped by Christopher, who is revealed to actually be a one-armed Nick.
4
"Nothing's Wrong With It, I Just Don't Need It Anymore"
Marcos Siega
Annie Mebane
August 28, 2024 (2024-08-28)
T82.10304
Flashbacks reveal how Nick and Eve first met. When the FBI caught wind of his Medicare scam, Nick faked his death by willingly having Israel amputate his arm and bribing Phinney into "reeling" it in. When Phinney and Israel risked exposing the deception, Nick, under orders from Eve, had them killed. Additionally, it is explained how Yancy lost his detective job in Miami in an attempt to expose the corrupt Officer Mendez, and how he met Bonnie and the reasons for assaulting her husband. In the present, Mendez, now a detective, learns from Israel's neighbor that she witnessed Yancy leaving her neighbor's apartment the day he was killed. Meanwhile, Yancy, after realizing that Nick possibly faked his death, is knocked unconscious by Nick himself.
5
"That Damn Arm Is Back"
Marcos Siega
Brian C Brown
September 4, 2024 (2024-09-04)
T82.10305
After surviving his attempted murder, Yancy recovers Nick's misplaced cell phone. Yancy and Rosa learn that Yancy is now a wanted suspect for Israel's murder, forcing them to hide out with Rosa's family. Neville attempts to hand the USB drive to city hall, but is betrayed. Having been cut off from her funds by her husband, Bonnie returns to Key West where she encounters Cody, the student she slept with. After digging up Nick's arm, Yancy takes one of the fingers, and manages to unlock Nick's phone. He and Rosa deduce which airport the Striplings will be flying out of. Despite failing to catch them as the plane takes off, Yancy calls Eve, revealing that Nick failed to kill him.
6
"Yo, Would You Tell Ms. Chase I Still Love Her Like Crazy"
Returning home from the airstrip to find Bonnie and Cody, Yancy sends them to his father's place for them to lie low. He then meets up with his friend Rogelio to discuss things only to discover that Ro set him up to be arrested by a vengeful Mendez. While investigating the hangar for proof of Yancy's innocence, Rosa finds Neville in the Stripling's plane, having stowed away to escape the wrath of the Stripling's bodyguard Egg. Feeling guilty for betraying his friend, Ro interrogates Israel's neighbor, learning that Mendez had ordered her to leave out the fact that she had witnessed Nick at her apartment the day the doctor was killed, exonerating Yancy. After threatening the Striplings when they make her a worthless offer for her land, Gracie is abducted by an unknown figure.
Bad Monkey premiered on August 14, 2024, on Apple TV+, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until October 9, 2024.[16]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 93% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10, based on 67 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A vibrant riff on the P.I. serials of television's yesteryear, Bad Monkey is a breezy good time that fully leverages Vince Vaughn's motormouth charms."[10]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 74 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17]
Notes
^Ortiz is credited as "Special Guest Star" but is a recurring cast member.[8]
^"Bad Monkey (Series) | In Development/Pre-Production". Film & Television Industry Alliance. January 3, 2022. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022. Shoot Date: February 07, 2022 Locations: Miami, FL, United States