Central Park season two: Star power fuels hidden gem musical series

Brimming with more talent than reasonable, not many people discovered this gem when it first premiered. With season two, it’s time to fix that mistake.

Damn, there is so much star power in Central Park you risk being blinded by their wattage.

This cheery, comforting and splendid streaming series is a hidden gem most people missed when season one dropped last year. With the second season starting this week, it’s time to fix that.

With so much heart in this story about a fight to save New York’s Central Park from a greedy developer, and this many big names involved, why wouldn’t you?

It would’ve been enough that Central Park was co-created by Loren Bouchard, one of the brains behind Bob’s Burgers, and Josh Gad, who sang his pipes out as one of the original Broadway cast of Book of Mormon but is also known to millions around the world as Olaf, the snowman from Frozen.

And before you even get to Central Park’s mega-talented voice cast, there’s also the fact that in addition to its in-house songwriting team of Kate Anderson and Alyssa Samsel, its guest songwriters include Regina Spektor, Rufus Wainwright, John Cameron Mitchell and Rafael Casal.

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The Tillermans in Central Park, voiced by Leslie Odom Jr, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Tituss Burgess and Kathryn Hahn.

Now, about that voice cast. Wowee. It’s rare to get this many names in one animated series, and a raft of talent who can give an affecting voice performance and belt out some big numbers.

There’s Leslie Odom Jr, who originated the role of Aaron Burr on Broadway in Hamilton and was nominated for an Oscar earlier this year, who plays Owen Tillerman, the park manager who lives with his family in a castle-type house in the park.

His wife Paige is a go-getter journalist with a nose for a story and she’s voiced by Kathryn Hahn, who has never disappointed in any role she’s taken. Five-time Emmy nominee, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s Tituss Burgess voices Tillerman son Cole while Emmy Raver-Lampman, from The Umbrella Academy, takes over from Kristen Bell in this second season as daughter Molly.

Bitsy, plotting away in her penthouse while Helen feels hard done by.

Stanley Tucci voices Bitsy Brandenham in Central Park. (AP Photo/NBC, Peter Kramer)

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Then you have the developer, heiress Bitsy Brandenham, who wants to turn the park into a profitable urban jungle. Stanley Tucci isn’t the person you immediately think of to voice a pint-sized, grey-coiffured plotter but he’s utterly fabulous.

At Bitsy’s side is her stern assistant Helen (Daveed Diggs), desperate to know if her years of dedication has translated to a spot in Bitsy’s will.

One of the great things about season two, which very much kept the upbeat tone and vibe of that winning first season, is it expanded our view into Bitsy and Helen’s world, deepening characters that could’ve been reduced to caricature.

And if that means Diggs, who was also in the Broadway cast of Hamilton, gets to rap as Helen, then all the better.

Overseeing everyone and the story is the omniscient narrator Birdie voiced by Gad, who got into a season one meta-level feud with another narrator voiced by his Book of Mormon stage buddy Andrew Rannells.

Josh Gad co-created the series and voices the narrator character, Birdie.

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The Broadway connections run deep with the likes of Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone having popped in for guest roles.

None of that abundance of talent matters if Central Park didn’t also deliver on all the other fronts, which it does.

Don’t be fooled by its simple animation because Central Park is buoyed by an earnest energy that makes every episode dynamic and appealing. The fast-paced dialogue is on point but what really shines, of course, are the songs.

From songs exploring Molly’s jealousy of a friend’s friend to Owen’s love of arcane city statutes to Helen’s defence of Weehawken, Central Park’s melodic musings are the soul of this delightful series.

You don’t want to miss that.

Central Park season two starts streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday, June 25

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