LOS ANGELES: Apple is continuing its foray into subscription streaming content with its first animated musical series “Central Park.”
Headlining the series are “Frozen” stars Kristen Bell and Josh Gad. Set to debut on Apple TV+ in May, “Central Park” was created by Gad along with Loren Bouchard and Nora Smith, the creator and executive producer of Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers.”
The trio had originally created “Central Park” for 20th Century Fox Television, but after delaying the project the studio passed, opting instead to license the show to be released by a third-party network. A bidding war began, with streaming competitors Netflix and Hulu voicing serious interest.
“We were blessed enough to have a lot of interest in the show when we went out and we pitched it and we tried to sell it,” said Gad.
“But we felt at the end of the day that a partnership with Apple represented the opportunity to help to find a new service. The opportunity to be not the 30th but the first,” he added.
“In defining a service by being the first animated series, you want to make sure that it is absolutely going to hit it out of the park.”
The show focuses on the Tellermans: Owen, Paige, their daughter Molly and their son Cole. The family works and lives in New York’s Central Park while defending it from villainous businesswoman Bitsy Brandenham and her assistant Helen, who are set on bulldozing it.
The episodes are narrated by Gad as the lovable but unreliable Birdie. Filling the rest of the roles is an all-star cast of musical talent hailing from stage and screen alike.
Apple’s upcoming musical comedy is the brainchild of “Bob’s Burgers” creator Loren Bouchard. (YouTube)
“It’s this group of people that I love so much: It’s Kathryn Hahn (Paige), Stanley Tucci (Bitsy), Daveed Diggs (Helen), Leslie Odom Jr. (Owen) and Tituss Burgess (Cole),” said Bell, who rounds out the cast as Molly. “So it’s like ‘Hello! Sing alongside those people? Yeah!’”
Gad said: “I think you’re seeing so many A-list talent flock in droves to Apple because for so long the brand has represented the cream of the crop in terms of innovation.”
He added: “There’s no shortage of amazing places out there that are trying to define new spaces, that are trying to create new content, but what Apple represents is brand recognition and trust with consumers in a way that really felt like it lent itself to the creative process.”
The crew set out to make each episode full-fledged musical, in an endeavor that Gad describes as “ground-breaking and back-breaking.”
As part of the eight-month production process, the music crew worked hand-in-hand with the writing staff to seamlessly work three to four songs into every episode.
The music team is helmed by executive music producer Frank Ciampi, whose previous credits include fellow musical series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” alongside staff composers Kate Anderson, Elyssa Samsel and Brent Knopf.
They were joined by several to-be-announced guest songwriters, and together ensured each show-stopping number fitting into the episodes’ stories, the characters’ voices, and of course the performers’ vocal ranges.
“There’s a lot of tricks that you can do in animation that you can’t do on stage. If you need to hit a real high note, you can dip, and you’ve got a lot more breath control,” said Bell.
The new series is set to debut on Apple in May. (YouTube)
“I’m all over the studio when I’m singing, but I can’t get away with that if I were to do that on stage.”
Only one trailer has been released so far, but a second season of the show was ordered months in advance of the first episode’s premiere.
The producers are anticipating that despite taking place in an iconic New York location, the show’s heartfelt and humor-filled stories will resonate with audiences everywhere.
“I think that everybody around the world, including our fans in the Middle East, are going to absolutely be beyond rewarded with the show,” said Gad.
Expectations are high and audience interest is peaked. Will “Central Park” be the international hit its creators hope it will be?
Apple TV+ subscribers can log in on May 29 to watch the streaming space’s newest animated series and find out.
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