I've been a relative latecomer to Apple TV+, but having benefitted from a banking benefit (cheers Barclays), I can quickly see why many regard it as the best streaming service. There are heaps of exclusive shows and movies with many more coming – but it's the service's new no.1 show that's really caught my attention.
Bad Monkey is an Apple TV+ exclusive that, for me, had flown under the radar in the lead-up to its release – but on a whim at the end of last weekend I caught glimpse of the trailer, thought it looked amusing, and promptly steamed through the first two episodes. You can watch the trailer below to see if you'll be just as enticed.
Anyway, it was quickly a 'my-oh-my' moment, as I think this is Vince Vaughn at his very best – in his casually comedic role playing Andrew Yancy, a detective turned restaurant inspector in Florida. Others agree, too, with the show fully deserving of its 91% Rotten Tomatoes score awarded by critics.
At the time of writing the jury is out on the audience score, with its lower 76% rating not quite here nor there just yet. But I'm certainly already a fan – and can't wait for episode three in the weekly release schedule. This isn't one of those box sets that you can binge all at once – and the better for it, I suspect.
The show comes from a pedigree too, with Scrubs and Ted Lasso producers on board – so no real surprise to see Zach Braff pop up in the trailer for Bad Monkey either. There are plenty of other stars on board, too, with both Rob Delaney and Michelle Monaghan both showing face – both featuring in recent Mission Impossible movies.
While I can't give too much away about where Bad Monkey is headed, so no spoilers here, the mix of Miami Beach's Dexter-like vibes (to be fair a severed arm features promptly as a key part of the story), The Wedding Crashers-style nonchalant comedy scripting, and a dual storyline that brings the drama, this looks to be a worthy high-scoring new Apple TV+ production.
