Central Park's first season set the stage for the Tillerman family's challenges and triumphs. Co-created by Loren Bouchard, Josh Gad and Nora Smith, the animated musical comedy brought both its characters and New York's famed public park to life with vibrancy and joy.
However, it's the show's second season that truly sings. Building off of the struggles presented in Season 1, the newest season of the Apple TV+ series pivots to focus more on the interiority of its players as Molly, Paige, Owen, Cole and even Helen realize they can be the hero of their story. Season 2 Episode 1, "Central Dark," opens with a slow pan of a sun-burnt sky filled with seagulls to New York's skyscraper skyline and lands on the Tillerman family commuting to school and work. Starting with the song "Middle of It All," written by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel, the audience is reintroduced to the show's leads. The first musical number hits like the opening song of a play's second act, lovingly welcoming the audience back to their seats.
Perhaps the most surprising part of "Central Dark" isn't the episode's fun premise -- showing varying points of view of the city and its inhabitants during a city-wide blackout -- but how much Daveed Diggs' Helen cares about her hometown of Weehawken, New Jersey, courtesy of "Weehawken" songwriter Supercommuter. In a two-minute hip hop number that raps "Manhattan, keep gawking," and even references Hamilton, Diggs' broadway talents are utilized to bring a comedic new depth and levity to the otherwise surly and underpaid assistant that's only outdone by the montage-style animation of Helen playing basketball.
Central Park's second season takes innovative leaps to its animation, playing with its colors and shots in a way that's both intimate and original. In Season 2's second episode, "Mother's Daze," which is set around Mother's Day, audiences are treated to the song "Promise," written by Jess Furman and Alana De Fonseca. An earnest Kathryn Hahn is at her sweetest here as she sings as Paige, but this time does it from/in the animation style of the actual cards Molly and Cole created for her. Singing macaroni pieces never looked so charming.
Of the three episodes that CBR had for review, it is the third episode, "Fista Puffs Mets Out Justice," that is the most memorable. Both in terms of its content and ingenious animation, Season 2 Episode 3 truly shines and shows just how powerful Emmy Raver-Lampman's vocal performance as Molly is. Fans of Central Park are used to seeing Molly draw and, at times, her comics come into life within the show; however, this episode is almost entirely told through the perspective of Molly's comic book artwork and alter-ego Fista Puffs.
This Molly/Fista Puffs-led episode, also, is one of the first ones to really tap into Molly's head. While we've seen her serenade about cute boys before and begrudge her awkwardness in Season 1, this episode highlights the confusing division in herself that she often feels.
Although the episode starts with "The Fista Puffs Theme Song," written by Knopf, and shows an afro-punching superhero, the episode veers into the emotional ballad about denial called "No One's Home." Written by Samsel and Anderson, the latter song puts Molly inside her animations and within the perfect family, doing everything that she wants and knowing all the right things to say, while she's clearly avoiding something upsetting.
While the episode could have stopped there and landed on a theme of "no one is perfect," it delves further into Molly's biracial experience with Samsel and Anderson's "Trying Too Hard" ballad. Here, Raver-Lampman is joined by the pitch-perfect Tituss Burgess, who also appears (albeit as a monster) in her animation. As the ballad builds, all the Mollys turn from an army of possible choices of how to be into a supporting ensemble cast made entirely from her inner strength. The ballad beautifully highlights how preteen Molly is old enough to understand the world's racially divided. As Raver-Lampman sings, "I gotta fit the plot that I got," it's clear Molly is processing her identity in a way that will speak to many Black preteens.
Season 2 bravely and joyfully takes Central Park into the hearts of the Tillerman family, who are just starting to see their power and realize the roles they were born to play.
Central Park is written and executive produced by Loren Bouchard, Josh Gad and Nora Smith, with Halsted Sullivan, Sanjay Shah and Janelle Momary-Neely as additional executive producers. The show stars Emmy Raver-Lampman, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr. and Stanley Tucci. The first three episodes of Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ June 25, with subsequent episodes debuting each Friday.