Central Park: release date, cast, storyline, trailer release, and everything you need to know.

Using the same visual aesthetic as Bouchard’s earlier series Bob’s Burgers, Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith, and Josh Gad produced the American musical animated sitcom Central Park for Apple TV+. The show, which debuted on May 29, 2020, centers on a family that lives in New York City’s Central Park and has to defend it against a rapacious property developer.

The show received an early renewal for a third season in March 2021, and on June 25, 2021, the second season debuted. September 9, 2022, was the debut of the third and last season.

The musical series portrays the narrative of the Tillerman-Hunter family, who reside in Edendale Castle in Central Park, through the eyes of a fourth, perceptive busker narrator, named Birdie. Owen, the park’s eccentric manager, is the patriarch. Paige, his journalistic wife, is devoted to writing short stories but aspires to produce a compelling narrative. Their son Cole is a sensitive young child who adores animals. Molly, their daughter, enjoys creating comics about herself and a boy she has a crush on.

Their lives are drastically altered when Bitsy Brandenham, an old heiress and businesswoman, and Helen, her regularly mistreated assistant, decide to acquire all the property in Central Park and develop it into additional restaurants, retail establishments, and condominiums as a means of retaliating against the outside world. In order to preserve the park, the Tillermans must also resolve their problems.

The plot of Central Park

Busker Birdie introduces the audience to Central Park (“Central in My Heart”) and the Tillerman-Hunter family, who reside in Edendale Castle: Owen, the park manager, his journalist wife Paige, and their children, Cole and Molly. He presents Bitsy Brandenham (“Heiress to a Fortune”), the proprietor of the Brandenham Hotel, which is located across from the park. Because of Helen, her helper, purposefully mishandled her dog Shampagne, the dog vanished from that location.

Everyone expresses what they want: Paige wants to have a huge article, Molly wants a boy called Brendan to notice her, Cole wants to take care of Shampagne, Helen wants to control the Brandenham money (“Own It”), and Owen wants to have some respect for himself and the park. When Bitsy promises to reward her dog for coming back, everyone floods the park and ruins Owen’s precious turtleheads. After learning of Cole’s wrongdoing, Owen tries to talk to his father (“Poops I’ll Pick Up”). Cole is deeply hurt when they finally give the dog back to an unappreciative Bitsy (“Shampagne Was My Best Friend”). Owen is somewhat pleased when Paige says that she published a story about the Turtleheads’ demise. Bitsy (“Central to My Plot”) discloses her intention to purchase Central Park.

Owen wants to make amends with the Central Park League, the organization that provides funds for the park. He needs to sort out a problem with the Skater’s Circle, which was abandoned when he forbade skating because of their persistent trash. In an attempt to get him to stop acting disrespectfully with skater Glorious Gary, Birdie attempts to talk him out of it. Inspired by her comics, Molly wants to feel heroic, so she agrees to let Cole see Shampagne once again (“Weirdos Make Great Superheroes”). In the meanwhile, Bitsy attempts to persuade a number of investors to support her proposal to purchase the park, which serves as a mask for her uncontrollable wrath toward everyone and everyone who denigrated her (“Make ‘Em Pay”).

Although Molly and Cole are unable to save Shampagne, they are delighted to hear that he remembers Cole (“Weirdos Make Great Superheroes Reprise”). Paige finds out that the Central Park League is debating a matter that might affect the park’s budget while covering a town hall meeting for her story. Bitsy chooses to take advantage of this chance to carry out her plan to permanently eradicate Central Park. While Birdie foreshadows his coming revelation (“Do It While You Can”), Paige tries phoning Owen. However, he is learning to skate with Gary and starting to comprehend the significance of skaters.

Birdie informs the audience (“Birdie Busking”) that the prominent folks in Central Park are getting ready for the Hat Luncheon. When giving the golden rake to a long-time employee, Owen had to make a speech. Paige brings the kids to the spa to interview Leo Shallenhammer because she is curious about why the lone Park League member voted against the park’s financing (“Momma’s Got This”). When she finds out that Mayor Whitney Whitebottom swayed Leo’s vote, she decides to approach him directly since she doesn’t know why (“Momma’s Got This Reprise”).

As Owen trembles to get ready for his speech (“Don’t Think About the Failures”), Bitsy gets ready for the luncheon and manipulates the politicians and socialites into going against one other. After Cole assists Molly in speaking with Brendan, he enthusiastically consents to get ice cream from the luncheon. The mayor responds to Paige with a “we can do better” response before making off, as the municipal officials and socialites engage in a food battle (“The Park is Mine”). Brendan also discloses that Bitsy is his great-aunt. Molly gives Brendan a kiss thereafter, but she reacts allergically since she had peanut ice cream. The main reason Owen’s speech is successful in the end is that people were sick of arguing.

Birdie (“Garbage Ballet”) describes the operation of the trash collection system in Central Park. But because of Bitsy’s meddling, the mayor orders the collectors to declare that they are full, which results in the park being overflowing with rubbish. Paige is unexpectedly unwell at home and starts seeing rats everywhere in her dreams. Cole pretends to be unwell, but then gets sick, out of fear that she would kill them, and he attempts to stop any rat deaths (“Rats”). It’s hinted that their subsequent discovery of a family of rats in the cellar is a hallucination, yet they nevertheless run away. Though Molly’s name is kept private, word of her awful kiss with Brendan travels across the school, and her Fista-Puffs comics (“I’m the Worst”) start to reflect this.

Through her cartoons, her buddy Hazel deduces her situation and advises her to move on from Brendan. When she learns she has his phone, they remove all of her texts from it. Owen gets the bright idea to start a “trash train” and deliver all of the waste to the collectors, where he learns of the scam. With the assistance of a kind waste manager named Esposito (“Manager to Manager”), they ultimately discover a gap. Bitsy invites her staff members to her hotel’s haunted room 723. She claims to sense her father as she enters to prove this to the servants.

Bitsy employs Shart, a tagger, to sully Central Park. As he informs the audience of this, Birdie emphasizes that, in his capacity as the narrator, he is unable to provide the players with crucial information (“Spoiler Alert”). The graffiti unnerves Owen, and Molly offers to accompany him in his efforts to identify the vandal. As they encounter Cole, Bitsy has Helen take Shampagne for a stroll. Enraged by Bitsy’s devotion to him, Helen lets him walk Shampagne (“If There’s a Will”). Paige discovers that someone is purchasing buildings illegally at a low price, but she is unable to identify who.

Claiming to have overheard Bitsy making the purchases from passersby in the park, Birdie blurts out that Bitsy is responsible. It is discovered by Owen, Molly, and the park staff that Shart is attempting to spell his name throughout the park (“Method to This Madness”). Thought Bitsy was signing her money to Shampagne rather than her, Helen tries to murder him (“If There’s a Will Reprise”), but she feels guilty and, paradoxically, ends up saving Cole and the dog from a car crash. Together, Owen, Molly, Cole, and Paige manage to capture Shart in the act, which infuriates Bitsy. When Griffin, a new narrator, reveals himself, Birdie starts to worry that he could give Paige too much information.

Bitsy finds out that one of her investors, Dmitry, needs to get his daughter Anya married and requests a room at the hotel. Just as everything becomes ready, Anya vanishes out of nowhere. Griffin cautions Birdie about the risks of approaching too closely once more (“Too Close”). After Molly finds Anya, Paige quickly finds out about the wedding. Because of her father’s ties with the mafia, Anya is opposed to marrying her fiancé; nonetheless, Molly and Paige persuade her to go, and Anya confirms that Dmitry is working with Bitsy (“Show Up”). Birdie says that storytellers ought to be guardian angels as well, dismissing Griffin and running to save Owen and Cole. This works, much to Griffin’s surprise, and Birdie is brought back as the narrator.

Cole is happy that his favorite book series, The Squirrel Quarrels by Kelleth Vanbeaceler, will be the subject of tomorrow’s “Sqavenger” Hunt in Central Park (“Nuts Nuts”). While Paige plays chess with Molly as a mother-daughter, Owen consents to accompany Cole to the event. She is shocked to learn that Molly is skilled at it and chooses to take her to play against the experts. Owen starts to struggle with the intricacies of the book series as he and Cole go on the treasure hunt with Cole’s buddy Enrique.

Bitsy, however, openly despises her family, especially her brother, at their reunion (“Big Deal”). Her nephew Brendan is the only one who truly seems concerned when she informs them about her desire to purchase Central Park. While Owen is upset over damaging his connection with his son, Paige expresses her happiness that Molly is a skilled chess player (“Can We Do Today Again?”). After Molly loses against a professional player, Paige fears that Molly will no longer like chess (“Can We Do Today Again? (Reprise)”). Paige is relieved that Molly can accept defeat, though. In the end, Owen had dinner with the author after deciding to step up his efforts and assist Cole and Enrique in winning the scavenger quest.

Resuming their romance, Molly and Brendan text each other in secret (“I’m in a Perfect Relationship”), expressing their love for one another. Even so, she declines Cole’s invitation to supper, partly because Paige won’t stop asking questions and partly because Owen’s pizzas are famously bad. In the meanwhile, Bitsy phones dog expert Augustus for assistance when Shampagne urinates on her bed. Helen devises a plan to have Shampagne removed (“TOSGANO”) when he tells her that if he starts biting, he is a TOSGANO (this one sucks, get a new one). However, the plan fails miserably once more. Bitsy offends Owen and Paige by publishing a letter complaining about how awful Central Park is.

Molly attempts to hide the fact that Brendan is a Brandenham from her parents when she invites him over. After rushing outside with Birdie to perfect the pizza, everyone finds that it tastes wonderful, even if Owen ends up spilling it on the floor when he arrives home. After Paige persuades Brendan to reveal his namesake, he divulges Bitsy’s scheme to purchase the park. Despite this, Molly’s relationship with Brendan doesn’t bother Owen and Paige, who are happy with the outcome (“Imperfectly Perfect”). Brendan tries kissing Molly many than once, but every time the shoot ends badly.

Just as it starts to rain, Cole becomes startled by the bats on the tour (“Rated Hard PG, for Spookiness”), which frustrates the Tillerman-Hunters (“I Did Not Account for This”). After a while, Owen and Paige obtain the receipt and promptly return it, allowing Molly to pick up Cole and they depart for home. In the meantime, Bitsy and Helen burn the stock after unintentionally becoming stuck in a prohibition tunnel and being imprisoned in a wine cellar they think belongs to a competing hotel. Disappointed that Owen was not dismissed and that the stock was rightfully theirs, they accompany Bitsy to the prize ceremony. The bathroom cleaning scene is enjoyable for Owen and Paige (“Live It Up Tonight (End Credits)”).

When Owen learns that there may be a snakehead living in the Harlem Meer, he becomes terrified because it may harm the environment (“Hell-Fish”). In an effort to gain personal knowledge, the other family members choose to go with him. Bitsy finds out she is unlikeable in the meanwhile, so the mayor brings in Ashley, a likability expert, to help her improve (“New York Doesn’t Like Your Face”). When the snakehead’s tale quickly gains national attention, Bitsy chooses to seize the opportunity and hires fishing expert Dick Flake (“Dick Flake”). Only if Dick catches the fish and is paid will Bitsy’s likeability increase. He succeeds in doing so as Bitsy tries to harm Central Park’s reputation once more.

Paige surmises that Dick may have just purchased the fish from a butcher’s shop after observing that it appeared to be dead already. Owen wants to give up, but his loved ones push him to keep fighting for the park. Together, they set out in the darkness, and Owen manages to capture the snakehead. The narrative is broken when Paige exposes Dick as a liar and humiliates Bitsy once more. Bitsy promises to keep up her opposition to the park while the Tillerman-Hunter family may relax, knowing that they can work together to keep the park safe from individuals like as Bitsy (“Die Trying”).

“Middle of it All” sees Birdie and the Tillerman-Hunter family making a comeback. Helen is recounting her attachment to her hometown (“Weehawken”) during an event Bitsy and Helen are attending in the meanwhile. When they go to the gathering, Bitsy addresses all the other hotel owners and lets them know about her future plans to utilize inexpensive real estate while also making fun of her competitors. As the Tillerman-Hunter family settles down to watch TV together, Molly discloses that she and Brendan are attending a concert. But everyone is impacted by a significant tri-state blackout (“Come into the Darkness”).

Because it’s a double date with juvenile offenders, Cole tells the family that Molly lied, which makes them start to distrust each other when the family decides to play a board game called Salem Witch hunt. During the darkness (“W(h)ich Way”), Bitsy’s adversaries pursue her and Helen, who utilizes her local knowledge to guide them home. Just as the electricity is restored, Bitsy secures the plans. When the witch card was misplaced during the blackout, the Tillerman-Hunters realized that none of them was the witch. Molly apologizes, and Owen and Paige let her attend the performance and see an encore of their play (“In the Dark”).

Owen, Molly, and Cole are getting Paige ready for the morning on Mother’s Day (“All About You”). As Molly and Cole are ready to give their gifts to Paige, Cole discovers that the pearls he purchased are inexpensive, and Molly realizes that her scarf isn’t particularly exceptional, so they both scramble to think of something else. While out on a stroll in the park, Owen and Paige come upon a mystery “unsanctioned plaque” that, when deciphered like a riddle, sends Owen on a treasure hunt. Helen, meantime, has the day off, and she finds Bitsy frighteningly sober.

She begs Lionel, the bartender, for her drink (“Pour Poor Me More Please”), but after he gets turned down for service tenders and all of his patrons go, he resigns. After spending a day at a spa, Helen finds that she is unable to unwind and decides to go back to the Brandenham (“This is It”/”This is It Reprise”). When she makes Bitsy apologize, Lionel receives his request. The last clue, which Paige discovers at the park bench where she found out she was expecting Molly, tells her that Owen and the children set up the complex treasure hunt, and they return with their handmade presents. She promises them that she will always be a part of their life, no matter how old they become, and she accepts them because she loves them (“Promise”).

Molly’s fantasy world is a simulation in which Fista Puffs is attempting to stop a monster at the museum (“The Fistapuffs Theme Song”). Despite her best efforts, she is unable to stop it. While Haze and Sha-Boom, two of her fellow heroes, are training her to become a member of their team, the Pow Pow Boom Booms (“Pow Pow Boom Booms”), Fista Puffs discovers that Sha-Boom is a villain, and Haze apologizes for not believing her. When Molly, still in her comic book shape, gets invited to dinner, her family begs her to forget about her troubles and appears to be rather accommodating (“No One’s Home”). When Molly understands that this is improper, she receives a formal invitation to supper.

Molly tells how her friend Hazel started chatting to Shauna that day at the museum and how he was smiling at her jokes. She began to make cheesy jokes out of discomfort. To make Molly feel better, Paige shares an embarrassing anecdote about how she puked in a friend’s mouth while riding a roller coaster, but Molly returns upstairs empty-handed. In her comic, she returns to the obedient family, but they all turn against her for keeping her issues hidden, so Molly eventually faces them head-on (“Trying Too Hard”). While Molly is now hanging out with both Hazel and Shauna in the actual world, Haze and Sha-Boom are once again the Fista Puffs’ buddies (“Pow Pow Boom Booms Reprise”).

The speaker Owen had scheduled for the class trip to Central Park had to cancel, so he is anxious. Fearful, Owen declines to speak himself and remembers being inspired by another park manager, Ward Whitlinger (“The Answer is Ward”). In order to find Ward and get him to talk, Paige makes the decision to use her journalism abilities. Molly and Cole try to liven up Brendan’s indoor kite flying competition by going to watch him (“Kite String”). As Bitsy is having Helen type her book, she finds out that her brother Ambrose is also typing one, so they hurry to the publisher.