Vince Vaughn's Bad Monkey expertly blends comedy and murder mystery, but there are other reasons why the Apple TV+ show could become the next Knives Out. Rian Johnson's Benoit Blanc series hit the ground running with the first installment in 2019. Since then, a standalone sequel, Glass Onion, has been added to the franchise. In 2025, Daniel Craig's eccentric detective will return to the lead the cast of Wake Up Dead Man to create a trilogy. Apple TV+'s Bad Monkey may be in its early stages, but there are enough signs to suggest it could mirror Knives Out's trajectory.
Vince Vaugh leads the Bad Monkey cast as Andrew Yancy, a disgraced police detective who is determined to return to his former role. The show has been adapted from a Carl Hiaasen novel by the same name and has Ted Lasso showrunner Bill Lawrence at the helm. Currently billed as a 10-episode limited series, Bad Monkey's future would seem to be finite at the moment. That being said, the lack of additional source material with a shared title doesn't necessarily mean Vaughn can't return as Yancy in another project.
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Driggs' actor in Bad Monkey had been in the industry for a long time, making one character's claim about the capuchin Johnny Depp's co-star viable.
Bad Monkey's Andrew Yancy Could Become The Next Benoit Blanc
Vince Vaughn's Bad Monkey character can return beyond the events of the Apple TV+ miniseries
Johnson's Knives Out formula means his leading man can come back again and again without any of the supporting cast from the previous installment. Glass Onion proves the endless possibilities of how future sequels could be made, but also how accessible each individual movie is, regardless of whether the viewer has seen the others. Interestingly, Vince Vaughn could also step into another story beyond Bad Monkey, as Hiaasen penned a standalone sequel novel for Yancy that was published in 2016.
Razor Girl, published three years after the Bad Monkey book, softly continues the events of Bad Monkey, but with the plot following a new case.
Razor Girl, published three years after the Bad Monkey book, softly continues the events of Bad Monkey, but with the plot following a new case. Razor Girl isn't quite as isolated from Bad Monkey as Glass Onion is from Knives Out. However, the fact that Yancy teams up with new characters in both stories brings to mind Benoit Blanc's revolving door of acquaintances. If a Razor Girl adaptation happens, it would be easy to follow Johnson's example and isolate it from Bad Monkey, but still have it set in the same universe with the same main character.
Knives Out/Bad Monkey Rotten Tomatoes Ratings | ||
Title | Release Year | Rotten Tomatoes Rating |
Knives Out | 2019 | 97% |
Glass Onion | 2022 | 91% |
Bad Monkey | 2024 | 92% |
Wake Up Dead Man | 2025 | TBC |
Adapting Razor Girl Into A Standalone Series Makes More Sense Than Bad Monkey Season 2 For Apple TV+
Bad Monkey continuing in its current form would mean a lack of source material
As a limited series, it would make sense that Apple TV+'s Bad Monkey will adapt the novel in its entirety. However, if the show does well, and it's decided it should continue, Bad Monkey season 2 would be a risky move due to the presumed lack of source material on which to base a true follow-up. Instead of continuing the events of the first book, bringing back Vaughn as Andrew Yancy for a Razor Girl TV show is a much more logical move. Showrunner Bill Lawrence has spoken with MSN about the possibility of adapting Razor Girl after Bad Monkey.
“The first season is Bad Monkey, which Carl wrote with a beginning, middle, and end. But Carl was my favorite author as a kid, and he wrote a sequel to Bad Monkey called Razor Girl that we also have. I don’t want to get caught in the thing where you’re like, 'It’s okay that there’s no other book! We’ll do another year and it’ll be great!'”
Lawrence sounds prepared to adapt Razor Girl, if not also hopeful that it'll happen. His summary of the situation of there being "No other book" is immediately rectified by the presence of the 2016 novel. So, although Apple TV+'s Bad Monkey may inevitably draw to a natural conclusion, the possibility remains that Razor Girl could be its spiritual and literal successor. Thankfully, Lawrence also sounds passionate about following the Knives Out formula if Bad Monkey succeeds.
Source: MSN
Apple TV+'s Bad Monkey Release Schedule | ||
Episode | Title | Release Date (2024) |
1 | The Floating-Human-Body-Parts Capital of America | August 14 |
2 | A Hundred Bucks Says You Won't | August 14 |
3 | Nobody Said He Was Alvin Einstein | August 21 |
4 | Nothing's Wrong With It, I Just Don't Need It Anymore | August 28 |
5 | That Damn Arm is Back | September 4 |
6 | TBA | September 11 |
7 | TBA | September 18 |
8 | TBA | September 25 |
9 | TBA | October 2 |
10 | TBA | October 9 |
Bad Monkey
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TV-MA
Comedy
Crime
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A former Miami detective turned health inspector, Andrew Yancy, discovers a severed arm while working in the Florida Keys. Determined to solve the mystery and reclaim his former position, he navigates through a web of quirky locals and corruption, all while dealing with a troublesome monkey.
- Cast
- Vince Vaughn , Natalie Martinez , Alex Moffat , Ronald Peet , John Ortiz , Tom Nowicki , David St. Louis , L. Scott Caldwell
- Release Date
- August 13, 2024
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Bill Lawrence
