Plus, watch an exclusive clip of Emmy Raver-Lampman as Molly in the animated musical series.
Central Park, the Emmy-nominated and acclaimed animated musical series, is back with a third season on Apple TV+. The new episodes continue to follow the Tillerman family -- park caretaker Owen (Leslie Odom Jr.), his wife and reporter, Paige (Kathryn Hahn), and their two kids, Molly (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Cole (Tituss Burgess) -- as they navigate life in New York City.
In addition to an exclusive clip from the first three episodes featuring the Tillerman siblings preparing for the arrival of Paige’s sister, Abby (Kristen Bell, who returns to the series after Raver-Lampman replaced her as Molly after season 1), Raver-Lampman opens up to ET about what to expect from the series and if she and boyfriend Daveed Diggs, who voices Helen, the bewildered assistant to mogul magnate Bitsy (Stanley Tucci), will ever get to record together.
ET: Congrats on season 3. What can you tease about Molly’s journey this season?
Emmy Raver-Lampman: One thing that I love about Molly is that she’s constantly evolving and she’s constantly changing like any normal teenager, and she’s moving through adolescence, sometimes with grace and sometimes a little clumsily. This season we really touch on some big teenage issues and monumental moments, and we’re normalizing a lot of conversations that parents should and want to have with their kids. And we’re doing it through comedy and through song and through amazing storytelling.
We’ve got some evolution. There’s the first boyfriend relationship. You know, she starts her period. She’s figuring out her hair, which is something that I can relate to so profoundly. So, I think there’s just a lot of really good conversations that are coming from all these directions this season that were really fun to explore and be a part of.
Given how last season Molly got some really great songs and musical moments to explore her character, is that something we can look forward to? Are there any numbers you are most excited about this season?
I mean, this season, the music is insane and what I can speak on and what I was so excited about is the genres that I was doing. I mean, in one session I was singing a very singer-songwriter, acoustic kind of song. And then the next half hour, I was singing a rock and roll, Led Zeppelin-type song. It’s just like the genres that we were covering and the genres of music that are included in the season are quite extensive and quite wild.
We’ve got some incredible songwriters and musicians that have written music for the show this season. And it’s just insane. I’m so excited for people to hear this music because it’s all over the map in the best way.
I’m sure as a performer with a background in theater, it must be fun to dip into all these different genres and styles. Was there one that was truly like a “pinch me” moment?
To be quite honest, it’s the fact that I get to do this period. Like, every day that I’m in the studio, working on the show is honestly something that I never saw for myself. This is such a gift and such an opportunity because I didn’t see representation like this for myself growing up. And so, to be a part of this show and to tell Molly’s story, which is a beautiful biracial story with an interracial family, is so profound.
Getting to sing these songs and work on this music but also getting to work on an animated series and voice a character who looks so much like me and is going through situations that are so close to my heart and situations that I also went through, the whole experience is kind of a pinch me moment, to be honest.
Considering you came in after season 1 and took over Molly from Kristen Bell, how do you feel like you’ve made the role your own two seasons in?
I think having a biracial person tell this story, it broadens our ability to tell this story. There are conversations that I’ve now been a part of to help tell Molly’s story that are experiences that are very biracial specific. And I think there are huge parts of the show that I don’t know would have existed had it not been voiced by a biracial person, which I feel like is so exciting. And I feel so honored to do that.
So, that is an obvious reason. But I also think as we go, the writers and the songwriters are starting to learn my abilities and learn just who I am as a person and as an actor. I feel like the writing starts to shift towards the things that they know that all of us are good at and the keys and the songs change and ebb and flow. And we’re broadening the types of stories that we can tell and the type of music that we can explore, which I think is so fun.
This team is just so unbelievable at getting to know the people that are voicing the characters that are on their show. So, it’s just been such an honor to kind of watch them because Kristen is one of the best voiceover actors. I am such a huge fan of hers. She’s unbelievable. And I knew I had the biggest shoes to fill and I was so nervous but no one else was, which was really nice.
They just immediately believed in me and knew that I could do it. And I just was kind of like, “OK, we’re going with that.” So, yes, I too am confident that I can do this. And it’s just been a dream ever since.
You spoke earlier about recording. Given that both you and Daveed Diggs are in the same series, do you ever get to record together? Do you ever get to rehearse together?
We don’t. But it’s because we don’t want to. It’s just that voiceover work is pretty singular, sadly. And especially now with the pandemic, the industry has gotten -- well, it was already pretty good with people doing it from home -- but I think it’s kind of like next level. I recorded the majority of season 2 when I was in Australia.
And every single actor on this is a big actor in their own right and have several different things with crazy schedules. So, I’m sure we’re all recording the show all over the world, all the time. And so, actually getting all of us in the same room was probably always going to be an issue. But now with COVID, I think they’ve figured out that we don’t need to, which is sad because I love all of these humans so much. And most of them I haven’t even met yet.
But no, Daveed and I don’t. We sometimes use the same studio. We have a little at-home studio and we’ll use that, but he usually does all of his stuff separately and I do all of my stuff separately. But we keep praying for a Molly-Helen collab. I feel like that could happen maybe in season 4, who knows. Hopefully we’ll get lucky.
Central Park season 3 premieres with three episodes on Sept. 9 on Apple TV+, with new episodes debuting weekly on Fridays.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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