Returning for the second half of the second season, Central Park takes the Tillerman-Hunter family to new heights. Set in the eponymous New York City park, the animated show follows the Tillerman-Hunters, a nuclear family living in Edendale Castle. Owen (Leslie Odom Jr.) is the park manager and father, while mom Paige (Kathryn Hahn) is a journalist for a unremarkable New York paper. Molly (Emmy Raver-Lampman) is their creative artistic daughter, and Cole (Titus Burgess) is their emotional and affectionate son. Created by Josh Gad (who plays a nosey and friendly busker who also double duties as the narrator), Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard, and Nora Smith, the series has a lot of similarities to the popular show about the Belchers. It follows a family through their day-to-day struggles while generously peppering in musical acts that are full of humor and heart.
Unlike Bob's, the show has a central conflict in the form of a looming cloud called Bitsy Brandenham (Stanley Tucci). Bitsy is a rich heiress and entrepreneur dead set on buying Central Park and bulldozing it over to make condos and shopping malls. At her side is Helen (Daveed Diggs), the long-suffering assistant of Bitsy's who not only takes care of the heiress and quietly hopes to inherit her fortune, but also takes care of Bitsy's dog Shampagne, who Cole loves. While the first part of the second season meandered a bit when it came to the Brandenham conflict, the second part brings us back to the heart of the issue. Buying the park is the key impetus of the story, but the characters are interesting enough on their own to sustain the show when it wants to wander away from that plot.
The second half of Season 2 explores the Tillerman-Hunters and Bitsy more deeply. Molly goes through puberty and we watch as the family has to figure out how to approach a girl who gets her period for the first time. We learn more about their castle home and flashback to when Owen and Paige first moved in. Extended family comes into town in the form of Owen's mom and that relationship is explored. We also explore more of Bitsy's past. The first half of the season saw a flashback episode exploring Bitsy's bling ring past where she nearly-almost had a romance with a young cop when she had a brief period as a cat burglar. The episode "The Shadow" was one of the highlights of the season featuring a young Bitsy before her father died.
Interestingly, some of the more exciting scenes involve when the two opposing sides — the family and Bitsy and Helen — interact. Whether it is a confrontation or something less antagonistic, it feels momentous. Although we follow both the family and Bitsy throughout the series, they rarely actually interact directly with one another. The finale sets up a compelling dynamic for the future.
The big twist before the mid-season break was about whether the Tillerman-Hunters wanted to leave Central Park, with Owen getting an invite from a university in Connecticut that would give him the opportunity to build a whole new park. With the uncertainty about Bitsy, it seemed the perfect opportunity to cut and run, but ultimately the family decided they were too in love with the park and the city to abandon it. The return of the second season shows just how pivotal the family is to the survival of the park.
While it is enjoyable watching Owen be a dorky park-loving dad, or Paige doggedly hunt down what she needs for her story, or Molly draw her Fistipuffs comic, or Cole play with Shampagne, less interesting is Josh Gad's Birdie. The busker initially started off as a charming little joke, but as the characters develop and pick up steam his existence as a narrator feels unnecessary. Attempts to make him more a part of the story feel contrived when there are already far more interesting characters besides him. His presence as a narrator/'guardian angel of the family' has overstayed its welcome.
The show is, once again, bursting with musical numbers that vary in style and genre. From Daveed Diggs' rap flow to Odom Jr.'s belting solos, it's impossible not to tap your feet along with the catchy songs that they drop every episode. Clearly Wilo Productions has found a winning format when it comes to their animated shows, and they haven't flopped yet. From Bob's Burgers, to The Great North, to Central Park, they understand that not only is a heartwarming sitcom about a family a winning formula, but infusing it with musical numbers that are immensely catchy will keep people coming back for more. Though it might be rather repetitive, with similar character tropes repeating themselves in the three shows, it hasn't lost its appeal so perhaps sometimes you can have a lot of a good thing.
Rating: B
The second half of Central Park Season 2 returns March 4 on Apple TV+.