WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Bad Monkey episode 3.
Summary
Zach Braff’s guest appearance in Apple’s new crime comedy seriesBad Monkeyhas me way more excited about the recently confirmed reboot ofScrubs. Vince Vaughn leads thecast ofBad Monkeyas a former Miami detective trying to get his job back after being demoted to a health inspector.Bad Monkeyis one of the many shows created by prolific television producer Bill Lawrence, whose other works includeTed Lasso(2020-2023),Shrinking(2023- ),Cougar Town(2009-2015), andScrubs(2001-2010).Bad Monkeyfollows Vaughn’s Andrew Yancy who comes across a severed human arm and believes it’s his way back to the police force after being demoted to a restaurant inspector in the Florida Keys.
Bad Monkeyis an adaptation of the 2013 novel of the same name written by Carl Hiaasen, who has written several other comedic crime thrillers set in Florida.Bad Monkeyhas received great reviewsupon its release, receiving a strongRotten Tomatoes critic score of 92%as of the time of writing.Bad Monkeymarks the first television series Vaughn has starred in sinceTrue Detectiveseason 2 which was released back in 2015, although he did guest star in several episodes ofCurb Your Enthusiasmseasons 10-12.Bad Monkeyseason 1, episode 2ends with the interconnection of separate series protagonists, Andrew and Neville.
Braff’s Israel O’Peele is a great addition to the Apple comedy series
His back-and-forth banter with Vince Vaughn is one of the highlights ofBad Monkeyso far, which makes me wish that he played a more central character in the series.
Zach Braff doesn’t appear inBad Monkeyuntil episode 3, titled “Nobody Said He Was Alvin Einstein”.Bad Monkeyepisode 3 was released on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, August 22, 2025 and is one of the funniest episodes of the dramedy series so far, with many thanks toBraff, who plays a drug-addled doctor named Israel O’Peele. Although Braff’s guest appearance only ends up lasting a few scenes inBad Monkeyepisode 3, it was all that I needed to get excited about his return toScrubs, which is rumored to take on a darker side to his iconic protagonist JD.
Braff truly feels at his top comedic form inBad Monkey, stealing every scene that he takes part in as a paranoid and inappropriately medicated reclusive doctor who is in too deep with the wrong crowd. His back-and-forth banter with Vince Vaughn is one of the highlights ofBad Monkeyso far, which makes me wish that he played a more central character in the series. Nevertheless, Braff was the best part of every scene he was in, which is high praise considering the strong actors he shares the screen with inBad Monkey. Perhaps his drug-induced doctor character in Bad Monkey was a warmup role for his expected return as an older JD inScrubsseason 10.
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What Zach Braff & Series Creator Bill Lawrence Have Said About Scrubs Season 10
Both are highly enthusiastic about the return of the celebrated series
Braff andScrubscreator Bill Lawrence, who also uncoincidentally developedBad Monkeyfor television, have both confirmed and expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming continuation of their belovedScrubsseries.Braff recently discussed with Screen Ranthis vision of what an older JD would look like inScrubsseason 10. “Well, I think that… You know, JD is a grown a** man now, and so Scrubs would still have his imagination. But I think he’s more in the Dr. Cox position these days. He’s the senior doctor to the hospital.”
Braff continued, “I think it would be interesting to find him yearning for some of the innocence of his youth, and finding ways to sort of get back to the character that everyone fell in love with. To me, that would be interesting, seeing him having lost some of his joy, and going in search for finding some of the joy of his youth.“Lawrence also recently confirmed the return ofScrubsto television, saying “I’m really candid about it. We’re definitely going to do it, just because we’ve all been enjoying hanging out. I’m open to it, and I don’t want to do it as a movie, but I’m definitely open to doing a couple more years of that show.”
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Braff’s character didn’t survive through the end of the episode
Braff’s involvement inBad Monkeyepisode 3 was unfortunately short-lived. He was surprisingly killed off after only having a few scenes, which is really too bad because he and Vaughn were great together and Braff would have been fun to watch in his dysfunctional character at a greater capacity. It appears that Braff’s Israel O’Peele was shot and killed by a gunshot wound to the back of the head in his own apartment. While the identity of the murderer has yet to be confirmed, it looks as though Christopher (Rob Delaney) killed him off as one of the many people who know about his insurance fraud scheme to live lavishly in the Bahamas.
New episodes of Bad Monkey are released every Wednesday on Apple TV+.
Bad Monkey
Cast
A former Miami detective turned health inspector, Andrew Yancy, discovers a severed arm while working in the Florida Keys. Determined to solve the mystery and reclaim his former position, he navigates through a web of quirky locals and corruption, all while dealing with a troublesome monkey.
