Central Park Season 1 Review

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/centralparkofficial/

How many shows have you binged during lockdown? 

The ones you've been meaning to watch but not got round to until you were furloughed as you had nothing else better to do; the ones you've been stuck a few episodes in for the last how many months before Ms Rona came along (that was definitely me with POSE, which I finally finished last week); or something brand new and out of the box?

And even with all that, anyone else's Netflix and Crunchyroll lists refuse to go down like the magic porridge pot, or just mine? 

Anyway, we've had two big musical themed TV shows air during lockdown: the first was Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (which I loved but didn't get round to reviewing, may write about it once Season 2 drops): and the second was this one, Central Park. I don't know how many people know about this show so here we go. 

Btw, no spoilers; you're all good.

Central Park is an animated musical comedy series created with the team behind Bob's Burgers along with Josh Gad (Beauty and the Beast), set in and around NYC's famous park. 

It follows the Tillerman family in their day to day adventures living in the park: dad Owen, who is the Park Manager: mum Paige, a local journalist: and their two teenage children Molly and Cole. 

But they also face an adversary in Bitsy Brandenham, who is stirring a political stew in order for her development plan to go through - turning the haven of the park into yet more skyscrapers and condos. 

True, this would NEVER happen in real life, but just go with it - TV logic. 🙈

What attracted me to this show was not just that it was an original animated musical series; but also the voice cast. Having Gad as a producer, the show was able to get an incredible group of people, most of whom have done Broadway or other shows/films which they had to sing for - or sometimes both! 

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/centralparkofficial/

Gad himself plays Birdie, a busker who also acts as the narrator breaking the 4th wall left right and centre while also acting as a sort of guardian angel for Owen and his family. 

But you also have Owen himself voiced by none other than Leslie Odom Jr, last seen giving one of the best performances in Hamilton on Disney + recently. Katheryn Hahn plays Paige, while the two kids are played by Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Tituss Burgess and Gad's Frozen 2 co-star Kristen Bell (she has however resigned from playing Molly and fellow Hamilton OBC alum Emmy Raver-Lampman will take over in Season 2). 

Speaking of Hamilton alumni, I have to also mention Daveed Diggs, who plays Helen, the long suffering maid to Stanley Tucci's Bitsy. Diggs is almost unrecognisable in the role, as far away from flamboyant Thomas Jefferson as he is likely to get. It's only when Helen does her numbers when I realised her deadpan tone really was Diggs'! 

It's the Hamliton/Frozen crossover in an alternate universe that we didn't know we wanted or needed! 

But it's not only the main cast who shine. The show also allows some fine voiced guest stars let their hair down. Some of my favourites include Christopher Jackson having the catchiest song in the entire show; Audra McDonald (Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill) as a likability consultant; and Gad's former Book of Mormon co-star Andrew Rannels as a rival busker. Their song sounds just like Elders Price and Cunningham having an argument and I love it!

Speaking of the songs, let's go into them shall we. 

Unlike Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist which is a jukebox musical like Glee, Central Park features at least 4/5 original songs per episode, most of which are written by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel, who wrote the songs for the Frozen short Olaf's Frozen Adventure.

Each episode however does feature a song from a guest songwriter, all of which fit Anderson and Samsel's style. These include Darren Criss, Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper and even Alan Menken!!!! 

Of course I shouldn't need to say they're performed incredibly, these are performers with proven vocal talent after all. But by not taking themselves seriously at all, they're also the key into making the Tillerman's day-to-day events fun for the audience. 

How else can you have numbers taking matters like how a demon snake-fish affects the pond ecology, or the logistics of rubbish disposal and make them entertaining! It's not often that they do numbers that go in-depth into people's hearts like people would expect theatre-style songs to be; and on the rare instance it does, it's almost always humorous. 

If you think this is up your alley, or want a fun show that will brighten your day a little, then I definitely recommend this one. 

I've only seen a few bits of Bob's Burgers, but you're a fan of the show, I don't need to tell you you'll probably like this too. I think fans have been asking for a musical of Bob's Burgers for a while now.... so... does this suffice? It does, from what I have seen, keep the same animation and writing style as the show does. 

The show streams on Apple TV +, so if you haven't got it either grab yourself a free trial, or if you know someone who already has it, do what I did and ask them very nicely to borrow their ID for a day so you can watch it. Each of its 10 episodes are only 25 minutes, so it's a nice easy weekend binge-watch. 

This has possibly ended up as one of the most fun shows I have seen during lockdown, even taking into account all the anime I've watched! I'm so glad I saw this and am already looking forward to Season 2 next year (that is if Ms Rona hasn't pushed it back TOO much.....).