Bill Lawrence is back with another TV series for Apple TV+, called Evil monkey. Lawrence is known for creating the smash hit series Scrubs and co-creator of the successful Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso And Shrink. Evil Monkey is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen. Lawrence, who is known for attracting big stars to his project, sees Vince Vaughn, Michelle Monaghan and Jodie Turner-Smith in the lead roles in the ten-part series.
Evil Monkey Plot
Evil Monkey tells the story of former police detective Andrew Yancy, who has been demoted to restaurant inspector in South Florida. But when a tourist finds a severed arm, Yancy plunges back into the world of corruption that has taken over the country in Florida and the Bahamas.
Evil Monkey Review of Season 1
In the modern age of television, it is easy to tell whether a show should be canceled all at once or kept in a weekly format. Based on the best-selling novel by Carl Hiaasen, Evil Monkey develops relatively slowly and tries to hold your attention with this weekly format, but never really gets going due to the lack of a good script. From the first episode to the last, I didn’t care what was happening.
The poor writing was a real shock, because Bill Lawrence’s series usually gets so into the characters that you can get involved in their journeys. There were so many side parts that when it came time to tie them together in the finale, there was so much going on that it felt bloated. Speaking of tying things together, the fact that they felt the need to tie everything together so perfectly at the end makes you feel like the journey wasn’t worth the time.
Since the show is set in the Florida Keys, you expect it to be aesthetically pleasing, but that was far from the case. I’m not saying there weren’t moments that caught your eye, but the team behind the camera didn’t set the Keys up to develop their own character like they should have. Also, when the storms appeared and disappeared in the show, the visual effects and/or CGI used were abysmal.
As a huge fan of Vince Vaughn, I found his act in Bad Monkey boring. The script pigeonholed Vaughn, and within that pigeonhole, it didn’t feel like they allowed him to flourish in the typical comedic way we’ve come to expect from him. This was mostly because the show wasn’t sure it wanted to be funny. Still, there are some glimmers of hope when we see Vaughn and Ronald Peet on screen together. I would do anything to see these two in a buddy cop movie.
Is Evil Monkey Is season 1 worth watching?
Located in the Florida Keys, Evil Monkey has the premise, cast, and writers that could make it an entertaining experience. However, due to a lack of execution, development, and a formulaic story, the series is nothing more than a giant mess. If you plan on watching it, you might be better off watching it once after all the episodes are released. This show is far from being something worth watching week after week. It’s a rare miss from Apple TV+, which usually hits the jackpot with its TV shows.
Evil MonkeyThe first two episodes will stream on Apple TV+ on August 14. All ten episodes have been reviewed.
4/10
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