Central Park Season 2 - What We Know So Far

Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard's new series, Central Park, is an animated musical romp that predominantly features the landscape of the famed New York City landmark. Co-created with producer Nora Smith and actor Josh Gad (who also voices Birdie in the series), Central Park premiered on Apple TV+ with ten episodes in its first season, each with a series of unique and hilarious musical numbers. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91 percent and 71 percent average viewer score, it is no wonder that Central Park has been renewed for two more seasons.

When last we left the Tillerman family and the underhanded Bitsy Brandenham, the millionaire heiress was still determined to carry out her plans to do away with the park. Meanwhile, Owen, Paige, Cole, and Molly were doing everything they could to save it. No doubt fans of the series are eager to learn what happens next, so here is what we know so far about season 2 of Central Park.

The release date for Central Park season 2 is Friday, June 25, 2021. Central Park first aired on Apple TV+ in May 2020, so this puts the new season's air date about a year after the first season. The platform will air the first three episodes of the second season on the premiere date. The rest of the new episodes will continue to release weekly.

Apple TV+ has already confirmed a third season for the series (via Collider), which had creator Bouchard celebrating on his Twitter account. "Seasons 2 and 3 of Central Park mean 29 more episodes, and something like 115 new songs," Bouchard claimed. This puts season 2 with about 15 episodes, give or take, and plenty of new musical numbers to tap your foot to. The recent announcement should have fans excited about the upcoming seasons for quite some time.

Central Park's first season had a slew of first-rate actors lending their voice talents. Along with the aforementioned Gad (who voiced and sang as Olaf in both Frozen films), there is Katherine Hahn (WandaVision), Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games), Tituss Burgess (The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), and Hamilton alums Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs.

One actor who will not return to reprise their role in season 2 is Kristen Bell, who voiced Molly on the show. Bell chose to step down, acknowledging the problematic casting of a white actor playing the role of a mixed-race character. The role is now played by Emmy Raver-Lampman (Umbrella Academy). Lampman spoke to the Observer in August 2020 about the role, and her thoughts about race inclusivity. 

"Now having a biracial woman voicing a biracial character, we can actually have her talk about the struggles of finding the right hair product when you're half white and half Black," said Lampman. "We can talk about the struggles of, where do I fit in? That can be a tricky conversation to have and a tricky story to tell when it is not voiced by the person that is being represented on the screen."

On June 15, Apple TV+ dropped the official trailer for the series' upcoming season. Prior to that, the company released a video on its YouTube channel featuring a new number, "Weehawken Rap," which will likely feature in the next season.

"Weehawken Rap" is a tribute to the hometown of Central Park's Helen, the abused and unhappy assistant to Bitsy. The scene shows Helen and Bitsy stuck in traffic, presumably within the New Jersey city, as Helen drops the beat to tell her employer: "I'm from this city so please watch how you're talkin'; It's home to me, I love this town, let me tell you about Weehawken." Helen goes on to describe her love of the city and its charms as well as a few of its flaws.

Daveed Diggs plays Helen and performs the number with his trademark speed and eloquence, as was seen in his dual roles in the hit musical Hamilton. There's even a reference to the site where Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in that very town. Fans will likely get to hear the "Weehawken Rap" and other new musical numbers when new episodes of Central Park's second season begin this summer.