Central Park (TV series)

Television series
German title	Central Park
Original title	Central Park
Country of production	United States
original language	English
year	2020
Production company	Bento Box Entertainment, Wilo Productions, Angry Child Productions, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, 20th Century Fox Television
length	22-26 minutes
Episodes	10 in 1 season ( list )
genre	Animation , comedy , musical
idea	Loren Bouchard , Nora Smith, Josh Gad
production	Kevin Larsen
music	Leo Birenberg, Elyssa Samsel, Brent Knopf
First broadcast	May 29, 2020 on Apple TV +
German-language first broadcast	May 29, 2020 on Apple TV +
synchronization

Central Park is an American musical - animated series , which of Bob's Burgers -creator Loren Bouchard , Nora Smith and actor Josh Gad as a tribute to the eponymous Central Park in New York City was developed. The first season appeared on Apple TV + on May 29, 2020 .

action

The plot of the series, which is accompanied by the street musician Birdy as narrator, revolves around the family of the park ranger Owen Tillerman who live in the park and, as their opponent, the hotel heiress Bitsy Brandenham, who wants to buy the park and tear it down for a residential complex. She wants to sabotage the reputation of the park, which the Tillerman family tries to stop.

characters

Birdy ( Josh Gad ) is a violin -playing busker he helps out in Central Park and friend of Owen Tillerman, the and his wife Paige with advice. In addition, he acts as a narrator for the audience, who knows all the storylines, and sometimes lets the audience drop background information about the park as well as predictions and spoilers . He comments on what the family is doing in their house by crouching around the windows. He must not mix his two positions and must therefore avoid the other characters catching him as a narrator. He is not allowed to reveal any secrets to the characters through spoilers, which means that when he does it once, his position as a narrator is briefly endangered.

The Central Park location in an aerial view.

Tillerman family

• Owen Tillerman ( Leslie Odom Jr. ) is the African-American park manager of Central Park and lives with his family - his wife Paige and children Molly and Cole - at Edendale Castle in the park. He is committed to keeping the park and its natural surroundings clean and healthy, and is particularly thorough and methodical in his work.
• Paige Hunter ( Kathryn Hahn ) is a journalist for the newspaper "What's New, New York?", For which she has previously written shallow gossip articles. But she's hoping to finally land a big reveal story, so doing research on the links between Bitsy Brandenham and the Mayor.
• Molly Tillerman ( Kristen Bell , Emmy Raver-Lampman ) is the older child of Owen and Paige. She wears two hair buns (Afro Puffs) and draws comic stories with herself as a superhero Fista-Puffs (English fist for fist). Her skills are that her hair can be shaped into arms with fists, and the time can be counted back five seconds. Molly is in love with the boy Brendan Brandenham, Bitsy's great-nephew, whom she met while flying a kite in the park and who works as a kite boy in her comics. The two start a relationship.
• Cole Tillerman ( Tituss Burgess ) is Molly's younger brother and is quite animal-loving. After taking care of Bitsy's dog Shampagne, he develops an intense relationship with him, especially since he feels that Shampagne is being treated badly by Bitsy.

Bitsy Brandenham ( Stanley Tucci ) is a very small, white-haired older woman who inherited the Brandenham Hotel from her late father and built it into a multi-million dollar company. In the hotel opposite Central Park, she lives in a penthouse on an upper floor, from which she can overlook the park. It can be from their Butlerin Helen ( Daveed Diggs ) use, only in the hope of inheriting of Bitsy, endures the abuse, and spoiled their dog Shampagne, a Shih Tzu - Poodle , with luxury that actually harm the dog. Because Bitsy is not taken seriously and ignored by other wealthy entrepreneurs because of its size, in order to gain respect, Bitsy resolves to complete the largest construction deal in New York history: She wants to buy Central Park and tear it down to have condominiums built there instead . She used her influence on Mayor Whitebottom, whose election campaign she financed, and the city council to make this plan.

Episode list

No.	German title	Original title	First broadcast country	German language first broadcast (D)	Director	script
1	Chaos in the park	Episode One	May 29, 2020	May 29, 2020	Gavin Dell	Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith & Regina Hicks
On Miesmäulchentag in Central Park Bitys dog Shampagne missing. She offered a reward at a press conference and reported that the dog was last seen in the park. The passers-by storm the park and destroy the park in their search. Meanwhile, Molly is busy drawing the boy Brendan, whom she secretly observes, but then asks her. Cole had found the dog and hid it to take care of him, but when Owen finds out, he has to give the dog back. Songs : "Central in my Heart", "Heiress to a Fortune", "Own It", "Poops I'll Pick Up", "Shampagne Was My Best Friend"
2	Skater's Circle	Skater lap	May 29, 2020	May 29, 2020	Corey Barnes	Halsted Sullivan
Owen learns that since the skater "Glorious Gary" has stopped coming because Owen made too many rules for the skaters, no one is at the skater circle in the park , and tries to talk to Gary. Cole tries unsuccessfully to get into the penthouse to see Shampagne again, but when he whines in frustration in the park, the dog answers him from afar with howls. While Bitsy has a meeting with wealthy investors in her penthouse, to whom she explains her plan to buy the park, Paige, as a reporter, observes a meeting of the community contract award committee. When they voted on the park's funding, a city council member (instigated by Bitsy) votes no, which means that ratification of the treaty is next in the debate period. This success sparked investor interest in Bitsy's plan. Owen and Gary resolve their differences while skating together. Songs : "Weirdos Make Great Superheroes", "Make Em Pay", "Do It While We Can"
3	The gala reception	Has luncheon	5th June 2020	5th June 2020	Ian Hamilton	Chuck Tatham
Paige ambushes Alderman Leo Shallenhammer at a spa and learns that he voted no because the mayor wanted to. The next day there is a gala reception in the park with the park league and the city administration, at which everyone wears crazy hats and Owen is supposed to honor a long-serving park manager. Bitsy incites both parties against each other in such a way that the reception ends in a food fight. While no one is listening, Owen gives his speech that made him nervous. Paige helps the mayor to escape the chaos, and receives a quote for why he suspended ratification: "We think we can get more out of it." Molly and Cole secretly ate the ice cream for the reception with Brendan, whereby they learned that he is related to Bitsy. When Molly kisses Brendan afterwards, he has an allergic reaction from the ice cream she ate. Songs : "Momma's Got This", "Don't Think About the Failures", "The Park Is Mine"
4th	Garbage ballet	Garbage Ballet	June 12, 2020	June 12, 2020	Gavin Dell	Monica Padrick
Bitsy has ensured that the garbage collection point no longer accepts the garbage from the park due to allegedly full capacity, so that it is littered. Paige is sick and hallucinates rats at home that she wants to kill, which is why Cole stays at home to stop her. In the basement they find a whole family of rats, from which they flee in panic. Molly worries because Brendan doesn't write back to her after the botched kiss. When her project partner from school advises her to forget Brendan first, they discover that Molly has his cell phone. Owen constructs a garbage truck with which he brings all the garbage in the park to the collection point, where he sees that it has not reached its capacity, but has to follow an instruction from the mayor. Together, Owen and the manager of the collection point find a loophole in the statutes through which the garbage can still be accepted. Bitsy's maids refuse to clean a room that is supposed to be a ghost. Songs : "Garbage Ballet", "Rats", "I'm the Worst", "Manager to Manager"
5	The sprayer's trail	Dog Spray Afternoon	19th June 2020	19th June 2020	Joel Moser	Annie Levine & Jonathan Emerson
Bitsy hired a tagger who defaced the park with graffiti of his “Shart” writing. Helen performs shampagne in the park where they meet Cole and leaves him with the task of walking the dog. Because Bitsy Shampagne has her wills signed, Helen believes she wants to leave everything to the dog and decides to kill him. In the end she decides against it, but the dog runs out into the street by itself, so Helen has to save him - and Cole -. Paige finds out that a mailbox company funded the mayor's campaign, but not who it belongs to. Because the research would take too long for that, Birdy bursts out with the spoiler that Bitsy is behind it. After Molly recognizes the tagger's pattern, she and Owen lie in wait at night and catch him before he strikes the next time. Because Birdy broke the rule not to spoil any other character, a new narrator appears. Songs : "Spoiler Alert", "If There's A Will", "Method To This Madness"
6th	The rival	Rival Busker	June 26, 2020	June 26, 2020	Corey Barnes	Sanjay Shah
The guitarist Griffin takes over as the new narrator, but Birdy will not go. In return for helping with Bitsy's plan, Dmitry, a Russian oligarch , hires her to host his daughter Anya's wedding that same day. When Paige learns that Bitsy is meeting with Russians in her hotel, she and Molly take a room there. Molly hides the bride, who does not want to marry even though she loves the groom, in her room, but then she and Paige get Anya to go to the wedding, where Paige gets a photo of Bitsy and Dmitry. A camera was installed in the park to broadcast a live stream from an owl's nest. When Owen and Cole see a chick fall out of the nest, they climb the tree to save it, but are stuck. Contrary to Griffin's warning, Birdy interferes in the plot again and saves the two, but then it turns out that this has apparently led to him becoming the narrator again. Songs : "First Class Hands", "Too Close", "Show Up", "What Could Go Wrong?"
7th	The scavenger hunt	Squirrel, interrupted	3rd July 2020	3rd July 2020	Mario D'Anna	Jeff Drake
In Central Park there is a scavenger hunt for Cole's favorite book series Squirrel Quarrels about squirrel knights , in which Cole initially takes part with Owen, who has not read the books. As he criticizes the books more and more for the fact that the plot is illogical, Cole breaks up with him and continues the scavenger hunt with a school friend. To reconcile himself with his son, Owen reads the books and helps finish the scavenger hunts they win. As a reward, they will receive a dinner with the author of the books. After defeating Paige at chess, Molly decides to play against professionals in Central Park. She beats a boy there several times, but loses to a chess master who had previously offered her a draw . Bitsy goes to family reunion with her brother whom she and she despises. The announcement of her plan to buy Central Park leaves the others unimpressed, while only Brendan speaks out against it. Songs : "Nuts Nuts Nuts", "Big Deal", "Can We Do Today Again?"
8th	The hot oven	Hot oven	July 10, 2020	July 10, 2020	Corey Barnes	Rachel Hastings
Bitsy published a letter to the editor in a newspaper in which she makes the park bad. Because Shampagne pees in her bed, she calls up an animal therapist who tells Helen that he would not advise abolishing the dog until it bites, so she tries to get Shampagne to bite Bitsy. Molly and Brendan are now in a committed relationship, although they hardly see each other and mostly text messages and do not yet know their last names. At Cole's suggestion, Molly should invite Brendan over to her house for pizza. Shortly before, she learns that he is a Brandenham, which she then tries to keep a secret from her family, who are still upset about Bitsy's letter to the editor. Finally it comes out and Branden reveals Bitsy's plan to buy the park, but after the shock, Molly's parents aren't against the relationship between the two. Songs : "I'm in a Perfect Relationship", "TOSGANO", "Imperfectly Perfect"
9	We're celebrating tonight	Live It Up Tonight	17th July 2020	17th July 2020	Mario D'Anna	Syreeta Singleton
Bitsy has arranged for the evening that she should give her an invented award from the mayor and put down the park management in a speech with the results of an audit. Cole and Molly take part in the Kevin - Alone in New York - deleted scenes tour in the park , in which a guide at the locations tells anecdotes about the deleted scenes from the film. Terrified by bats, he runs away in the rain and dark, but Molly finds him again and brings him home. Meanwhile, Paige and Owen want to go out, but are then called for an audit. The auditor finds that the receipt for a purchase of worms is missing, which she can get out of the store in time so that they pass the test. Bitsy and Helen are accidentally locked in a prohibition tunnel that leads to a wine cellar on the way to the awards ceremony . Believing that this belongs to the rival hotel, they destroy the alcohol inventory. When they get out and arrive at the awards ceremony, they find out that the auditing did not reveal anything incriminating, and that Bitsy's hotel has run out of alcohol (since the wine cellar was actually hers). Songs : "Live It Up Tonight", "Zoom's Home Alone 2 Deleted Scenes Tour", "Rated Hard PG, For Spookiness", "I Did Not Account For This"
10	A fish called a snakehead	A Fish Named Snakehead	July 24, 2020	July 24, 2020	Corey Barnes	Mark Alton Brown
A snakehead fish may have been spotted in the Harlem Meer park lake that would endanger the ecosystem, so the family and park rangers are trying to catch the fish and save a family of ducks from it. Because of bad poll results for Bitsy, the mayor brings her a sympathy trainer. When Paige writes a story about the snake's head, the lake is overrun by civil amateur anglers and Bitsy hires the fisherman Dick Flake, who catches the fish and presents it to the press. But Paige realizes that he was already dead and thus cheated on Flake, whereupon they drive out onto the lake again that night. When Owen catches the actual fish, Paige publishes the news, exposing Flake and Bitsy as fraudsters. Songs : "Hell-Fish", "New York Doesn't Like Your Face", "Dick Flake", "Die Trying"

synchronization

The German synchronization is created for a dialogue book and the dialogue director of Kim Hasper by the FFS Film & TV sync GmbH in Berlin.

main characters

Series creator Josh Gad also speaks the narrator.

role	Original speaker
Birdy	Josh Gad
Owen Tillerman	Leslie Odom Jr.
Paige Hunter	Kathryn Hahn
Molly Tillerman	Kristen Bell (Season 1), Emmy Raver-Lampman (S2)
Cole Tillerman	Tituss Burgess
Bitsy Brandenham	Stanley Tucci
Helen	Daveed Diggs

Minor characters

role	description	consequences	Original speaker
Brendan Brandenham	Bitsy's great-nephew	1-4, 7-8, 10	Eugene Cordero
Elwood	Park ranger	1-2, 4-5, 8-10	Rory O'Malley
Marvin	Paiges editor-in-chief	2, 5, 10	Tony Shalhoub
Dmitry	Russian oligarch	2, 6	David Herman
Whitney Whitebottom	mayor	3, 9-10	H. Jon Benjamin
Randy	Park ranger	4-5	Phil LaMarr
Fran	Park ranger	4-5, 10th	Janelle James

Production and publication

Central Park was invented by actor Josh Gad and created with Loren Bouchard , creator of Bob's Burgers , Nora Smith, an executive producer of Bob's Burgers . After the brainstorming they casted even before they had written material, the main cast of theater and Musikfilschauspielern, the first Gad The ice queen co-star Kristen Bell , and among others the Hamilton actor Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs . As with Bob's Burgers , several female roles have been cast with men: Stanley Tucci as Bitsy Brandenham and Diggs as Helen.

Each episode usually contains four original songs. The show's composers and main songwriters are Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson , who previously wrote for Gad and Bell in the short film Frozen - Olaf thaws . Other songs come from Cyndi Lauper , Meghan Trainor , Fiona Apple , Alan Menken and Darren Criss .

Kristen Bell (left) has been replaced as voice actress by Emmy Raver-Lampman (right).

The series was originally produced by 20th Century Fox Television for broadcast on FOX . But after Fox renounced the series, Apple won a bidding dispute against Netflix and Hulu and ordered two seasons with thirteen episodes each in March 2018.

A trailer appeared in March 2020 and from May 29, the first season with ten episodes was released on Apple's streaming platform Apple TV + .

During the release of the first season in June 2020, it was announced that Bell would no longer speak the role of Molly Tillerman and would instead be given a new role, while Molly would be cast by a black or multiracial actress in the future. Bell said that she played Molly, exhibited a lack of awareness of her own profound privileges, and undermined the specificity of the experience of multiracial or black Americans. A month later, Emmy Raver-Lampman was announced as the new voice for Molly in season two.

reception

With Rotten Tomatoes , the first season receives a critical rating of 92% after 36 reviews and with Metacritic 80 points based on 12 reviews.

For Brian Tallerico of rogerebert.com , it's the best Apple TV + series by far and one of the best of the year: “Every episode is amazingly well done and bursts with music. [...] Each song not only advances the plot or reveals something unspoken from the inner workings of a character, but also stands for itself as a great song. [The musical, which is also comedy,] is an enjoyable one that integrates different styles without ever losing sight of the characters or the world that Bouchard creates. "

Daniel Fienberg for The Hollywood Reporter writes, “As an animated family comedy, Central Park is pleasant, lovable, and sometimes funny, but probably not immensely effective. As a musical it is something wonderful, a joyful and encouraging experience that almost guarantees that it will put a smile on your face, at a time when pure pleasure is a welcome relief. "

Ben Travers from IndieWire criticizes that there could be too much going on in the overcrowded episodes and awards the grade B +: “The music [...] is edifying and intelligent; the colors are vivid and catchy; the stories are successful accounts of how people come together. [...] Central Park and brings winning stakes both for the individual characters and for the family as a whole. "

nomination

At the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the 72nd Primetime Emmys 2020, Leslie Odom Jr. is nominated as Owen Tillerman in the "Best Voice Acting Performance" category.

Web links

• Central Park in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Central Park at Fernsehserien.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Central Park. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on July 28, 2020 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Reid Nakamura: 'Central Park': How Josh Gad and Loren Bouchard Assembled 'The Avengers of Musical Theater' for Apple TV + Series . In: The Wrap . May 31, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020.
3. ↑ Nellie Andreeva: Animated Comedy 'Central Park' From 'Bob's Burgers' Creator & Josh Gad Lands 2-Season Pickup By Apple With Star Cast . In: Deadline Hollywood . March 12, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
4. ↑ Vera Tidona: “Central Park”: Trailer for the animated comedy by “Bob's Burgers” makers . In: fernsehserien.de . March 11, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020.
5. ↑ Will Thorn: Kristen Bell Will No Longer Voice Mixed-Race Character in Apple's 'Central Park' . In: Variety . June 24, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020.
6. ↑ Denise Petski: 'Central Park': Emmy Raver-Lampman Joins Apple Series In Recasting For Mixed-Race Character Originally Voiced By Kristen Bell . In: Deadline . July 24, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020.
7. ↑ Central Park: Season 1 at Rotten Tomatoes, accessed July 30, 2020
8. ↑ Central Park: Season 1 at Metacritic, accessed July 30, 2020
9. ^ Brian Tallerico: Music and Family Combine in Apple TV's Wonderful Central Park . In: rogerebert.com . May 27, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020.
10. ^ Daniel Fienberg: 'Central Park': TV Review . In: The Hollywood Reporter . May 27, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020.
11. ↑ Ben Travers: 'Central Park' Review: Loren Bouchard's Good-Natured Musical for Apple TV + Is Ambitious to a Fault . In: IndieWire . May 29, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020.