Central Park Season 3 Premiere Date Announced, Kristen Bell Returning as New Character

Central Park is finally making its return to Apple TV+. On Monday, Apple revealed that the acclaimed animated series from Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard will be coming back for its third season on September 9th. The premiere of the new season will include a total of three episodes, with the rest of the season being released weekly, one episode at a time, through November 18th. Additionally, when Central Park returns, it will also see original star Kristen Bell coming back into the fold.

Bell originally starred in Central Park as Molly, the daughter of the mixed-race couple at the center of the story. Bell stepped away from the role ahead of the second season, allowing Emmy Raver-Lampman to take over and provide the voice for Molly going forward. In Season 3, a new role has been created for Bell.

This season, Bell will play a new character named Abby, who is the younger sister of Kathryn Hahn's Paige (the mother of Molly). When Bell initially stepped away from her first role in the show, Apple told fans that she would be returning in a new role, but that the addition of her character would need to wait until Season 3, since Season 2 had already been written and recorded.

"Seasons 2 and 3 of Central Park mean twenty-nine more episodes, and something like a hundred and fifteen new songs — a hundred and fifteen!," Bouchard wrote ahead of the Season 2 premiere. "The people who make this show dazzle me with their talent and ambition and sheer will. And Apple and 20th have shown their will too! I'm honored to be a part of something with this much chutzpah."

Bouchard created Central Park alongside Nora Smith and Josh Gad, and it tells the story of a family that looks after one of the country's most famous parks. Gad stars in the series alongside Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Kathryn Hahn, Tituss Burgess, and Stanley Tucci. Guest stars in Season 3 include Sam Richardson, Ike Barinholtz, Ben Schwartz, Zoe Chao, Ron Funches, Jack McBrayer, Amber Ruffin, Yvette Nicole Brown, Craig Robinson, Tim Meadows, and David Alan Grier.

Are you looking forward to the return of Central Park? Let us know in the comments!