We just got the first hint about Bad Monkey season 2 will be about, and it won't be the storyline fans expect!
Premiering in 2024, Bad Monkey was an Apple TV+ adaptation of the wild comedic murder mystery by famed author Carl Hiaasen. It focused on Andrew Yance (Vince Vaughn), a Florida detective who's good at his job but has the bad habit of letting his arrogance and smart mouth overcome his reason. That has him busted down to a restaurant inspector, where his discovery of a severed arm in a kitchen leads him into a complex murder case involving con artists and a voodoo queen.
The show won over critics and audiences alike and earned a second-season renewal for Apple TV+. Production is set to begin, although notably, it moves from location in Florida to Los Angeles. Without too many spoilers, the first season ended with Yance solving the case but still stuck as an inspector rather than a full detective.
That may be tied in to how the plotline for season 2 won't be the sequel fans imagined…at least not yet.
Many expected season 2 to adapt Razor Girl, the sequel to Bad Monkey written by Hiaasen in 2016. The plotline has Yance still working his inspector job when he's drawn to a female con artist and embroiled in a case involving Hollywood agents, the mob and a reality TV star.
However, speaking to TV Line, showrunner Bill Lawrence gave an update to season 2's filming that included the reveal that instead of Razor Girl, the season will have an original storyline.
"Razor Girl is a great novel for people who want to read it, but it's kind of a break from the characters of the first [book] and we wanted to have some of the characters from the first season more front and center in the second. [Season 2 is] an original story, but we're all Carl Hiaasen aficionados — and, also, Carl consults on the show and has been helping us a ton."
This may explain the production shift to California, as it's likely some case forces Yance to head to the state (unless we're seeing them try to pass California off as Florida). We should see the returns of the first season characters, notably medical examiner Rose (Natalie Martinez), who became Yance's love interest. The first season ended with them taking a break, yet the attraction was still there.
Some may be wary of a new storyline, yet as Lawrence points out, it's better to give the season 1 characters more to do. Rosa is barely in the Razor Girl novel, and it'd be a shame to waste Martinez in a cameo bit. It's also interesting to see what new mystery Yance gets involved with.
Hiaasan's involvement is a good sign, as his sardonic wit is key to the first season working. He may enjoy helping the writers craft a fresh story for Yance and still make it a fun ride.
Thus, Bad Monkey will strike out with a fresher story in season 2 and hopefully still see the Razor Girl adaptation down the road for this funny crime series.
Bad Monkey streaming on Apple TV+.
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