Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large From a budgetary perspective alone, Bill Lawrence — the writer behind “Scrubs,” “Ted Lasso,” “Cougar Town” and “Shrinking” — shouldn’t have shot his new Apple TV+ series “Bad Monkey” in Florida. “There’s no tax break, and it’s immediately more expensive,” Lawrence says. “There are so many regulations about the wildlife and about what you’re allowed to do.
There was a massive storm every 20 minutes that you have to shut down production. Animals were wandering around everywhere. It was tricky.
But it mattered to Carl.” “Carl” is Carl Hiaasen, Lawrence’s favorite author and the famed Miami-based writer behind the 2013 novel “Bad Monkey,” upon which the new series is adapted.
Before Hiaasen would sign off on the show, he had one major stipulation: You have to film it in Florida. “I went from thinking it wasn’t worth it when I was there — because it was a nightmare — to being really grateful,” Lawrence says of the production challenges there. “All of the limitations became a part of the show.
Read more on variety.com