From a financial standpoint alone, Bill Lawrence — the creator of “ Scrubs ,” “ Ted Lasso ,” “Cougar Town” and “ Shrinking ” — shouldn’t have filmed his new Apple TV+ series “ Bad Monkey ” in Florida.

“There’s no tax incentive, and it’s immediately more expensive,” Lawrence says. “There are so many regulations about the wildlife and what you’re allowed to do. There was a major storm every 20 minutes that forced us to halt production. Animals were wandering around everywhere. It was challenging. But it was important 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 while I was there — because it was a nightmare — to being really thankful,” Lawrence says of the production challenges. “All the limitations became part of the show. For instance, the red lights thing in the show is real. When we got there, we weren't allowed to shoot on certain beaches. Sea turtles were about to hatch, and the Keys were lit in [turtle-safe] red lights, so it looked film noir. Also, when deer and birds were ruining takes, we just put a camera on them, and they became all the transitions for the show. In the end, it was all worthwhile. But, man, it was tough.”

“Bad Monkey,” which premieres Wednesday on Apple TV+, stars Vince Vaughn as a former Miami police officer who’s now a Florida Keys health inspector but eager to return to the police force. When he discovers a severed human arm, he investigates what he hopes will be the murder case that gets him his badge back. (And yes, there is an actual monkey that gets involved in the story.) Like all Hiaasen stories, Florida and its unique characters are very much part of the plot.

Lawrence admits having mixed feelings about Florida. His family roots are there, including his parents now living in Orlando, and this familial connection sparked his interest in Hiaasen's novels.

“I began reading his books when I was 15,” Lawrence recalls. “He's a major figure there. And he's one of my most influential writers. You can trace a direct connection from Carl Hiaasen's absurd satire and outlandish scenarios to the wacky situations and ridiculous fantasies found in ‘Scrubs.’”

Adapting “Bad Monkey” became a personal project for Lawrence, who penned the show's first script seven years ago. He then spent nearly a decade trying to bring it to life.

In fact, when Lawrence initially met with Jason Sudeikis several years ago, it was to discuss “Bad Monkey”—before Sudeikis proposed “Ted Lasso,” and the two embarked on that endeavor instead.

However, “Bad Monkey” remained a priority for Lawrence, and ironically, the success of “Ted Lasso” provided him with the career momentum to finally make it happen. But even as Hollywood became interested in the project, Lawrence knew Hiaasen—who had felt disappointed with previous adaptations of his books that hadn't gone well (including a Mike Nichols project with Harrison Ford, now the star of Lawrence's “Shrinking”)—wasn't ready to get on board again.

“He has a strong, healthy skepticism about Hollywood,” Lawrence shares. “He hasn't always had the best experiences here. And he doesn't need it. He's a successful, best-selling author and environmentalist. He was a journalist at the Miami Herald until recently. When I convinced him to let me do this, it was the most surreal thing. He is a friend now, but imagine approaching your favorite author, and saying, ‘I love this book, and I want you to let me write six or seven chapters that I put into the middle of it.’ It was crazy.”

The successful adaptation of Hiaasen's books, like Elmore Leonard's works into series like “Justified”, helped soften that stance. Lawrence says Hiaasen was already a fan of “Scrubs” and “Ted Lasso” when they met, which also helped get the author on board. Out of respect, Lawrence says he made a special effort to keep Hiaasen informed about any significant changes he was making to the original story.

“Worst case, he would say, ‘why?’ And then I’d explain it. We’d discuss it,” Lawrence says. “But ideally, he’d give me other ideas. I haven't felt really nervous about doing a TV show in a long time. But I didn't want to disappoint Carl.”

How much does Hiaasen mean to him? Lawrence reveals that the next project he and fellow “Bad Monkey” executive producer Matt Tarses are working on — a 10-episode HBO comedy starring Steve Carell — was also inspired by the author.

“Steve’s character is loosely inspired by Carl Hiaasen,” he explains. “Matt and I had the chance to get to know Carl, and he’s so humble and self-deprecating, and doesn’t see himself as the literary genius we do. But Steve portrays a ‘man of the people’ author who finds himself at a prestigious New England college where his daughter teaches. He gets swept up in that college environment by chance, and we watch him as an outsider trying to navigate it.”

Lawrence has been juggling these projects with Season 2 of “Shrinking,” his Apple TV+ series that he co-runs with Brett Goldstein. After a long break due to the Hollywood strikes, “Shrinking” returns on Oct. 16, and Goldstein will be appearing on screen this year. “I will say it is not a quick appearance,” Lawrence says about how much we’ll see Goldstein. “You’ll know who he is from the very first episode. We’re not giving away any spoilers, but it’s pretty cool.”

Similar to “Ted Lasso,” Lawrence envisions “Shrinking” as a three-season show. “We had to pitch the beginning, middle, and end, and so we said the first season was about grief, the second season was about forgiveness, and the third season was about moving forward,” he explains. “The way I approach it with actors is to say I need at least three seasons to tell this story. So, know that this particular story will be completed in three seasons. But if Apple is interested in continuing, regardless of the format and as long as the main actors are up for it, I would definitely be open to it.”

And if you’re curious about “Ted Lasso,” there’s no news on that front. “The best thing about [questions about the future of ‘Ted Lasso’] is that it replaced, for a moment, having to talk about whether or not ‘Scrubs’ was going to be rebooted,” Lawrence says. But he admits that he recently changed his tune: “The reason that I accidentally said, ‘Yeah, I think I’m going to figure this out the next six months’ about ‘Scrubs’ recently, was because I just wanted to stop talking about the ‘Ted Lasso’ thing.”

Now that he has reignited the “Scrubs” conversation, Lawrence feels there’s some genuine momentum to make a reboot happen. There are still plenty of hurdles — “Scrubs” is a Disney show, and Lawrence has a deal with Warner Bros. TV, for instance. And the series’ cast is all very busy with numerous projects.

“It’s fascinating to me that the passion for ‘Scrubs’ has, I’m so grateful, never faded,” Lawrence says. “Maybe it’s because Zach and Donald are such close friends in real life and doing their podcast, and those T-Mobile commercials. None of us really need it, and that’s probably the biggest obstacle —everyone’s incredibly successful, talented, and wonderful.”

But the cast is never too far away: Lawrence has a tendency to bring back stars from his previous series, both in front of and behind the camera. That includes Braff, who was Emmy-nominated for directing “Ted Lasso” and has a guest role on “Bad Monkey” playing a different type of doctor.

“I asked him to take on this role because I wanted to spend time with him in Florida,” Lawrence explains. “He got to portray a doctor once again, but it’s not the same. He’s truly humorous, but there’s a tinge of sadness underneath. I’m simply very proud of him.”

So… is that “Scrubs” revival happening then? “The business side of things can be tricky. But I'm really hopeful,” he says. “It would be fun to do not just for a chance to get together with everyone, but also because it would be creatively rewarding. You don’t want to just phone it in. But it would be interesting to see those characters older and see what new young doctors are like now, because it is a demanding profession, and nobody's doing it to get rich.”