The Lyin' in Winter

I started "Central Park" just as the cancellation at the end of the third run was confirmed. I was disappointed in that decision based on the first run. Whilst this second run is still fun, the decision to make two 8 episodes halves of a season, rather than two separate seasons is strange and it feels like a little more of a slog than the first run did.

Bitsy Brandenham (Stanly Tucci) continues to scheme to buy Central Park and build on the land. Her plans are still investigated by Paige (Kathryn Hahn) and are delayed by a feud with her brother Ambrose (Ed Asner) and the potential return of notorious cat burglar The Shadow. Molly (Emmy Raver-Lampman) has several key milestones in her young life.

I still like the art style and most of the songs, about four per episode across this run which are all well performed, if some are catchier than others. Emmy Raver-Lampman replaces Kristen Bell as Molly and does a fine job maintaining the character. The MVP's from a comedy point of view remain Daveed Diggs and Stanley Tucci and the interplay between Bitsy and Helen is the shows best dynamic.

There are a few more non-sequitur type episodes in this run, than in the first. A couple of episodes focus on Fista Puffs, Molly's animated character. There is "The Shadow" episode which focuses on a young Bitsy. And episodes like "Sir Bricks-A-Lot" and "The Ballad of Johnnie Lee" which see the family tell smaller linked fantasy stories within the show structure.

Seeing the season as 16 episodes it's just stretched a little thin though and, whilst they're fun, most of the above mentioned epsiodes could be sacrificed for a tighter run.