One of Disney Channel's most recent successes has been Big City Greens, created by brothers Chris and Shane Houghton. The animated series follows the Green family as they move from the country into the heart of Big City, with children Cricket and Tilly leading them and their friends into wacky adventures as they acclimate to their new home. The series returns for its second season on Saturday, bringing audiences right back to Big City as the high jinks continue.
The Season 2 premiere is two smaller tales dividing the episode into two halves. Leading off the season is "Cricket's Kapowie," as Big Coffee prepares to film a television commercial, with Cricket going to outrageous lengths to get ready to shine for his moment of fame. The second part, "Car Trouble," has Bill trade in his beloved pickup truck for an electric car, leading to all sorts of antics and growing pains as he adjusts to the new automobile. The season also includes a holiday special, turning the series into a full-on musical, complete with seven original song-and-dance numbers as Cricket attempts to get into Santa Claus' good graces as Gramma and Tilly search for the perfect Christmas present for Bill.
Big City Greens is back without missing a beat, with the cast and crew visibly more aware of where they can take the characters. The slapstick humor and rapid-fire dialogue is still there, fueled by the series' signature madcap energy. But everything also seems a little bigger than when audiences last saw the Greens. The jokes are more ambitious but also more personal. The heart is still the emotional core, while the dynamic between the characters has visibly deepened as well.
It's clear the creative team and voice cast have grown much more comfortable in crafting new stories, for the series and that confidence has led to the show developing its own, distinct voice. The cast and crew are really swinging for the fences, unafraid to get wilder and wackier with the show's set pieces as they consistently up their game in the season premiere.
This is apparent with the noticeable increase in volume and profile of guest stars, with the Season 2 premiere featuring Jonathan Van Ness in a memorable role as Cricket continues his obsessive quest to make the most of his upcoming television spot. The episode also gives a sly wink to just how fleeting, and largely inconsequential, fame can be, despite the lengths some go for it. And the main cast continues to grow and excel in their roles, with Chris Houghton and Marieve Herington especially shining through as Cricket and Tilly.
Big City Greens wastes no time in raising the antics for its cast; even though the Green family has transitioned to their new home relatively well by the Season 2 premiere, there is plenty loads of comedic mileage to be had. And with the writers and actors continually growing more comfortable in bringing their own respective voices to the show, the series is bigger and better than ever as it avoids it sophomore slump by making its expanding beyond its tried-and-true premise without compromising the show's core appeal.
Big City Greens stars Chris Houghton, Artemis Pebdani, Marieve Herington and Bob Joles. The animated series returns Saturday at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT for its second season on Disney Channel and Disney NOW.