The all-new series Schmigadoon! from Apple TV+ marks for an ambitious and unique storytelling opportunity, as the narrative unfolds in a town seemingly trapped in a ’40s-era musical after two contemporary partners magically wander into the town, forcing the series to not only authentically embrace the spirit of such films but also offer a bit of satire without ever being a parody. Despite those inherent challenges, the series was created by Cinco Paul and stars Cecily Strong, who were well equipped to tackle the premise when it came to capturing the singular tone. Schmigadoon! premieres on Apple TV+ on July 16th.
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“I go through all of those things every day, probably. I’m the right kind of lunatic for this show,” Strong shared with ComicBook.com about capturing the humor, drama, and elevated tone of the series. “Getting to be a part of this from early on, I felt like I really knew Melissa; she’s an Aries, and it felt like Cinco was writing for me, in a sense. So it definitely felt like I will feel it if I know something’s not right. And we got to the scenes we’d shoot and say, ‘Maybe we should change this just a little bit; I don’t think she would do that.’ But there was no problem with me teasing this [genre] I love, ever, and then laughing at it and loving it and then crying with … that’s just all Cecily doing that, pretty much.”
Schmigadoon!, a parody of iconic Golden Age musicals, stars Strong and Keegan-Michael Key as a couple on a backpacking trip designed to reinvigorate their relationship who discover a magical town living in a 1940s musical. They then learn that they can’t leave until they find “true love.” The first season also stars Dove Cameron, Aaron Tveit, Ariana DeBose, Fred Armisen, Jaime Camil, Jane Krakowski, and Ann Harada. Martin Short guest stars.
With Paul having written not only the series but also the music, he would go on to detail the process of whether the songs motivated the narrative or vice versa.
“In almost every case we came up with a story first, of course, and the progression, and then suddenly it would reveal itself, ‘Okay, this is a place where we need a song.’ ‘Oh, this could be a song,’” Paul pointed out. “And so, generally, the story came first; we worked it all out in the writers’ room, and then it’s called ‘spotting the songs;’ you go through the script and say, ‘This could be a song.” And so, during the writers’ room, I would write the song, I’d come and perform it for them, or we had singers. Julie Klausner was in the writers’ room so she and I would sing the duets together or she would sing the female parts and we’d introduce it to everybody, but you want it all to feel like one piece. You never want to stop for a song. You want the songs to move the story forward and just be a part of it and so that was really the goal.”
The pair both went on to express which of the musical numbers in the finished series were their favorites.
“I was in no way involved with it, just got to watch it afterward, and it’s Ariana’s song with the tap-dancing kids,” Strong revealed. “I think it’s so, so funny. It’s laugh-out-loud [funny]. I sing with her when she does it and she just exudes so much joy. She’s just so much fun to watch in the skit. I really loved that one. And, especially, because on paper that was maybe the one song in the table reads, because we wouldn’t have the kids there, that you just could never really see and that it was like, ‘Whoa, it’s that? Wow.’”
Paul added, “That’s on the top of my list, as well, just because it turned out beyond all my wildest dreams. But I also have to highlight Kristin’s number, ‘Tribulation,’ which was just incredible and Barry [Sonnenfeld] and Chris Kotelly figured out, ‘Let’s do this all in one shot.’ And, boy, the amount of planning involved and the amount of things that could go wrong, and I think literally it was the third take or the fourth take, she just nailed it and we had it. And it’s all done live, it’s all in one shot. First, she complained quite a bit to me initially, she said, ‘There are no rhymes. How am I supposed to learn this?’ But, she did and she was amazing. So that’s one that I’m really happy with and proud of.”
While only one season has been confirmed, Paul went on to address whether we could see another season of the series.
“I have thoughts, on what I think we could do moving forward if we get that chance. If we get that chance, we’ll certainly dive in,” Paul confirmed. “But, like I’ve told Cecily, I would love to work with her and the rest of this cast forever. I’m psyched … I just got a little emotional. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”
In regards to her tenure with another series, some fans have speculated about Strong’s potential return to Saturday Night Live, with the actor admitted, “I’m sorry, it’s such a boring answer. I’m not quite sure. I love being there, I’ve loved being there. So either way, I would feel happy and super lucky for what I’ve had or what I will have.”
Schmigadoon! premieres on Apple TV+ on July 16th.
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