Apple Orders Animated Comedy from ‘Bob’s Burgers’ Creator

Apple is making big moves in its pursuit to create quality, original content for its customers to enjoy. Recently, the company announced plans to spend as much as $4.2 billion by the end of 2022 on everything from original movies, to documentaries, original series, and even a reboot of some all-time classics.

For its latest feat, Apple has purchased the rights to a 20th Century FOX Television production of an all-new series dubbed “Central Park”, according to a Variety report.

An animated musical, “Central Park” is described as the story of a family living near New York City’s famed Central Park who, as caretakers by profession, “end up saving the park, and basically the world,” according to its principal writer, Lauren Bouchard.

Bouchard is perhaps best known as the creator of FOX’s popular animated sit-com, Bob’s Burgers, which is currently running in its eighth season in primetime on the network. She teamed up with the network, long-time co-writer, Nora Smith, and actor Josh Gad, who will be among the show’s main cast members, to write the series for Apple.

According to Variety, other cast members will include Daveed Diggs and Leslie Odom, Jr. — known for their roles in the hit Broadway musical, “Hamilton” — who will be joining other stars including Titus Burgess, Stanley Tucci, Kathryn Hahn, and Kristen Bell.

Apple has recently inked deals on a plethora of original content projects including the rights to an original Drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, an original TV Thriller series produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, a new Comedy series featuring Bridesmaids’ star, Kristen Wiig, and even a Crime TV Drama (similar to CSI) starring Octavia Spencer.

“Central Park” marks the company’s first endeavor incorporating two untapped genres — an animated series, and a musical — and Apple has reportedly placed an order for two-seasons of the show, totaling 26 episodes.

As with its other, ongoing original content projects, there’s currently no word on when we might see “Central Park” for ourselves; and it’s also unclear if the series will be an Apple Music exclusive, or whether it will be available to iOS users via the company’s TV App.

Still, the news is likely to be welcomed among fans of Bouchard’s hit animated show, and comes as Apple has been investing heavily in its attempts to compete with the likes of Amazon and Netflix — seeking to create an increasingly wide range of content geared towards an even wider range of audiences.

On Monday, Apple’s SVP of Internet software and services, Eddy Cue, made remarks during his speech at the annual SXSW media expo in Austin, Texas, talking not only of Apple’s bold ambitions in the original content space, but announcing even bigger plans for a major addition to the Apple News platform, too.