Vince Vaughn is bringing Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey to the small screen.
The actor will executive produce and star in an adaptation of the novel for Apple TV+, Deadline reports.
Hiaasen’s novel, published in 2013, follows a Florida health inspector trying to figure out who a severed arm belongs to. His investigation leads him to the Bahamas, where he encounters a voodoo priest and the titular primate. A reviewer for Kirkus said the book was “not as funny as Hiaasen’s best, with a title character more vicious than amusing, but still the gold standard for South Florida criminal farce.”
The adaptation will be written by Bill Lawrence, known for creating the sitcom Scrubs and co-creating the series Spin City, Cougar Town, and, most recently, the breakout hit Ted Lasso. Lawrence will also serve as an executive producer of the show along with Matt Tarses (Mad Love), Jeff Ingold (Rush Hour), and Liza Katzer (Whiskey Cavalier).
Hiaasen’s books have been adapted to the screen before. His novel Strip Tease formed the basis of a 1996 movie starring Demi Moore; the film was famously reviled by critics. And a movie based on Hiaasen’s children’s book Hoot, starring Luke Wilson and Brie Larson, was released in 2006.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
