Natalie Martinez to Star in Apple TV+ Series ‘Bad Monkey’ After Recasting
The upcoming Apple TV+ drama series Bad Monkey has tapped Natalie Martinez for a starring role just days after the cancelation of her NBC show Ordinary Joe.
Martinez replaces Ana Villafañe, who was originally set for the role. While exact details on the recasting haven’t been revealed, Deadline reports that the character had been written older than Villafañe’s age, leading to the decision to replace her.
Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence will write and executive produce the series, based on Carl Hiaasen’s critically acclaimed 2013 novel, Bad Monkey. It stars Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a former detective turned restaurant inspector in Southern Florida. After a severed arm is discovered by a tourist out fishing, Yancy is pulled into a world of greed and corruption that consumes the land and environment in both Florida and the Bahamas.
According to Deadline, Martinez will play Rosa, a Miami medical examiner who is beginning to realize she may not be cut out for her job. Looking for an excuse to ditch work, Rosa jumps at the chance to help Yancy try and figure out the story behind the severed arm he brings into her lab.
In addition to Martinez and Vaughn, the series stars Michelle Monaghan (The Path), Jodie Turner-Smith (Anne Boleyn), Meredith Hagner (Vacation Friends), Rob Delaney (Catastrophe), and Arturo Luis Soria (Insatiable). Saturday Night Live‘s Alex Moffat is set to guest star.
Bad Monkey is executive produced by Lawrence via his Doozer Productions alongside Matt Tarses and Doozer’s Jeff Ingold. Marcos Siega will direct the first episode while also serving as executive producer with Doozer’s Liza Katzer. Warner Bros Television is the studio.
Martinez most recently played Amy Kindelán in the NBC drama series, Ordinary Joe. The series was canceled after one season earlier this month. She is also known for her roles as Alicia Mendez on the Audience Network drama Kingdom, Det. Jamie Lovato on CSI: NY, and Det. Ariana Sanchez on the short-lived ABC police-procedural Detroit 1-8-7.
Bad Monkey, TBA, Apple TV+
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