Josh Gad, who's arguably best known for voicing Olaf in Disney's animated $1 billion box office film series Frozen, has had another notable toon project on his plate over the past few years. He has also served as a cast member of Central Park, on which he's voiced Birdie -- the titular park’s busker and the show’s narrator. It's been over a year since new episodes have been available to Apple TV+ subscribers and, naturally, some have probably been wondering about the show's status. Well, it seems fans are going to have to "let it go," as Gad confirmed the sitcom's cancellation.
Central Park -- which marked another collaboration for Frozen's Josh Gad and Kristen Bell -- centered around about a family living in the New York City park and fighting to save it from a greedy landowner. The show seemed to build up a solid following over its three seasons. Unfortunately though, when a fan asked Gad if the animated series would return for a fourth season, he confirmed on Threads that the show was over, simply saying:
Sadly, it’s done.
As expected, fans were disappointed to hear about the cancellation. One user was thankful that audiences, at the very least, got to experience three seasons of the series. That's impressive, especially since Apple TV+ has canceled shows after one season like High Desert, Amber Brown and Dear Edward. The cancellations kept on coming at the end of the summer with City of Fire not getting renewed past its first season. Whatever the reason for this latest content move is, it’s a real shame for fans who were attached to the musical series.
Central Park had a lot of promise, and one reason fans may have been excited about the Apple series ahead of its debut is that it was co-created by Bob's Burgers Loren Bouchard. The animated series was originally supposed to air on Fox until the network passed on it, and the project made its way to streaming. Josh Gad and Kristen Bell were also joined by a star-studded cast consist Leslie Odom Jr., Stanley Tucci, Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs. The lovely animation, great musical numbers and stellar cast contributed to what was a truly entertaining show.
Though it's come to an end, the series remains one of the best Apple TV+ series to watch. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series premiered with a critical rating of 94%, and its second season got a perfect 100%. It also received awards recognition, notching four Emmy nominations for the vocal talents of Leslie Odom Jr., Tituss Burgess and Stanley Tucci. It even managed to win Best Animated at the AAFCA TV Honors.
It may be hard for some to let go of Central Park in the aftermath of Josh Gad's sad announcement. I suppose if there's any consolation, it's that we had the show at all and can still check it out. If you’re curious to know why critics and audiences love the musical animated series, it’s still available to stream on Apple TV+. You can also check out the 2024 TV schedule to get information on other excellent shows you can watch.
