Central Park’s Josh Gad on His Excitement and Goals for Season 2

For most TV series, whether they’re live-action or animated, the first season serves as a learning curve to find out what works and what doesn’t, as well as what fans connect with the most. For Season 2 of Central Park, star and co-creator Josh Gad admits that, with the cast and crew finding a groove earlier on than expected, it allowed the sophomore season to come together in a more effortless fashion, even with the coronavirus pandemic forcing the series to be produced from the comfort of everyone’s homes. Despite that effortless nature, Gad also admitted that they managed to push the series in ambitious new directions. Central Park Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on June 25th.

“I think the greatest goal was ease and a sense of effortlessness,” Gad shared with ComicBook.com. “Most Season 1s seem like they’re finding their footing and, Season 1, we found our footing pretty early, I would say, but Season 2 allowed us to really explore things and experiment in ways we never would have dreamed of doing in Season 1. A perfect example is that there’s literally a six-minute violin sequence in one of the episodes that is haunting and beautiful and sans any dialogue. So we really challenged ourselves to do the unexpected and I think it resulted, humbly, in some brilliant and unexpected ways.”

In Season 2 of Central Park, the Tillerman family continues to navigate living in and caring for the world’s most famous park. Molly experiences the trials and tribulations of adolescence, Cole is challenged by a truly embarrassing moment at school, Paige continues to chase down the Mayor’s corruption story and Owen juggles managing the park, his staff, and his family all with a smile on his face. Meanwhile, Bitsy inches ever closer to her sinister goal of claiming Central Park as her own; with Helen by her side, eternally wondering whether she’s made it into Bitsy’s will. Every step of the way, we are guided along by our friendly, fumbling, fiddler narrator, Birdie.

The series features an all-star cast, including Gad, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., and Daveed Diggs. One change from the debut season is that Kristen Bell exited the role of Molly, with Emmy Raver-Lampman taking up the part.

“Not unexpected, prayed for, lived-in experience of living in the skin of this incredible, dynamic character named Molly Tillerman,” Gad detailed of what the newcomer brought to the series. “She just brought her own experiences to that role in a way that made the character even more dynamic, even more unique and, not only through dialogue, but the songs that Molly does in Season 2, I think are the breakout songs. There’s one, in particular, called ‘Trying Too Hard,’ that I think is one of the greatest things we’ve ever done on the series. At the core of that success, is Emmy’s incredible manner in which she brings this character to life.”

Central Park Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on June 25th.

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