Pike Restaurant & Bar on Fourth Street will transform into a tropical Florida bar until Wednesday evening as it hosts filming for the Apple TV+ show “Bad Monkey” starring Vince Vaughn.
The dark comedy — based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen — stars Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a former police detective who now does restaurant inspections in South Florida. Yancy is pulled back into the world of crime-solving after a tourist aboard a fishing boat discovers a severed arm off the Florida coast.
Filming for the show took place in Florida for season one but shifted to the Los Angeles area for season two — reportedly aided by a $20 million tax credit from California.
Rob Delaney, L. Scott Caldwell, Alex Moffat, Michelle Monaghan and Crystal the Monkey held key roles in season one.
For season two, John Malkovich and Yvonne Strahovski have reportedly been added to the cast.
Filming at Pike Bar will include interior and exterior dialogue, as well as water-based atmospheric smoke and cats and rats in cages, with a trainer present, according to a notice posted for nearby residents.
Parking is restricted on the south side of Fourth Street from Hermosa to Cherry avenues until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, along with both sides of Florida Street from Walnut to Cherry avenues and Walnut to Hermosa avenues until 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
There will also be intermittent traffic breaks on Hermosa, Fourth Street and in the alley behind Pike Bar.
“Bad Monkey” isn’t the first time Long Beach has stolen a role from Florida.
Long Beach was famously used as a stand-in for Miami in the TV series “Dexter” from 2006 through 2013. Filming took place throughout town, including El Dorado Park, Alamitos Bay and at residences in Belmont Shore and East Long Beach.
A prequel for the series — also set in Miami and called “Dexter: Original Sin” — filmed near Bixby Park and in downtown Long Beach last year.