The cast of Apple TV+’s Central Park shares how this musical comedy came together

Apple TV+’s Central Park cast shared with FanSided how the show came together.

There’s no denying that there are a plethora of cartoons out there, and there’s a niche little space dug out precisely for adult cartoons. But Apple TV+’s newest entry into the game, Central Park, is a little different from the rest. This cartoon, from Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard and co-creators Nora Smith and Josh Gad, comes with a twist: it’s a musical!

For our full run-down of the show, you can check out our review of the first four episodes. And in anticipation of the show’s run on Apple TV+ beginning May 29, FanSided got the opportunity to attend roundtable interviews via Zoom to hear just why the cast loves the show so much.

As a bit of background, most of the series takes place in New York’s iconic Central Park. It centers around the Tillerman family — with Owen (Leslie Odom Jr.) being the manager of Central Park, who lives there with his wife, Paige (Kathryn Hahn), and children Molly (Kristen Bell) and Cole (Tituss Burgess). In opposition to the happy little family is Bitsy Brandenham (Stanley Tucci), an old businesswoman looking to turn Central Park into a place for luxury living. And she does so with the help of her assistant, Helen (Daveed Diggs). In between scenes, Josh Gad voices Birdie, a Central Park regular who acts as the narrator

Needless to say, this show is an absolute riot. And the stars who voice the characters help to make it all the more fun. Tucci’s Bitsy, in particular, is one of a kind. And when asked about if he had any inspiration for the voice, he revealed to FanSided: “Yeah, no, I wouldn’t even dream of telling you if indeed I had based this on someone. But, you know, I suppose every character is kind of an amalgam of people that you meet along the way. And Bitsy is very much that. Again, it’s really just about playing around, you know? It’s about your imagination, like a kid.”

For Daveed Diggs, who plays Bitsy’s assistant, he had his own unique story to tell about voicing the character.

“I tried some things up front, which were all shot down,” Diggs said of his character. “I kept being told that my own voice was totally appropriate for this elderly white woman, so I don’t know what that says about me. I don’t know. I have therapy tomorrow, so we’ll work it out!”

Looking at the cast list that makes up this unique show, it’s clear that Central Park brought on a cast with a diverse background of talents. You’ve got two Hamilton alumns, a Netflix original series regular (hint: it’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and an actress with roles ranging from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to Parks and Recreation. But, out of all their experiences, what best prepared them for this role?

For Kathryn Hahn, it was a variety of experiences that brought her to this point of playing the matriarch of the Tillerman family. She told FanSided: “Besides, I guess, being a mother, I would say… maybe playing the Tinman when I was a sophomore in high school,” she said with a laugh. ” Yeah… I would say it was both those things. I was so excited to do a musical; I was so excited to do these voices. I was so excited to just stretch myself in these ways that I had never [before], you know? [And] just be blown away by these humans and challenge myself to do something I’ve never done before.”

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Hahn also added she was excited that this was something she was able to show her family that she was in, especially because of the kind, loving nature that the Tillermans present on screen. It’s something definitely different from the bickering, incompatible families often seen on television and cartoons in the past.

Leslie Odom Jr. revealed that nothing in his past quite prepared him for this unique role. But he did owe a lot to his close relationship in working with Josh Gad, which helped him prepare for this — as it helped him understand Gad’s sense of comedy and how his mind worked.

“I was really excited and ready to jump in with both feet because, you know, with Josh, it’s always joyful,” Odom said. “It’s always silly and irreverent. But there’s also a real kindness that runs through the center of Josh’s work. So having known Josh for so long prepared me like nothing else.”

And finally, for Burgess, who plays young Cole, he summed up his most-useful experience as the following: “I’m used to playing people whose priorities are out of whack and out of order and are questionable, you know? And his adolescent desires, they are everything when you’re 11. Like, you have tunnel vision, and I still sometimes experience that. So me and Cole are thick as thieves! It was kind of easy to drop into him.”

This is just a preview of what you can expect to see in Apple TV+’s Central Park beginning May 29. The series comes with 13 episodes, and it’s bound to be a delight for everyone watching. It’s extremely catchy and fun, and you might even find yourselves humming or singing along to the tunes sung by the cast throughout the entire show.

For more, follow the Television or Interviews categories on FanSided Entertainment.