The latest series from Apple TV+ is Central Park, an animated musical comedy from Bob's Burgers creator Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith, and Frozen's Josh Gad. Set in New York City, the series follows the people who live and work in the area of Manhattan's Central Park, and their efforts to protect the beautiful locale from a greedy business magnate.
Central Park boasts an all-star cast including Stanley Tucci, Kristen Bell, Leslie Odom Jr., and Kathryn Hahn. Initially gaining fame her role on Crossing Jordan, Hahn recently earned major acclaim for her leading role in the HBO series, Mrs. Fletcher, as well as her current role alongside Mark Ruffalo in This Much I Know Is True. In the near future, she will make her MCU debut in WandaVision on Disney+.
While promoting the debut of Central Park, Kathryn Hahn spoke to Screen Rant about the show and her career. She discusses singing in the show and what it's like to work with Loren Bouchard in the voice over booth. She also discusses the joy and responsibility she feels as a woman playing leading roles in major Hollywood productions and shares her thoughts on the current renaissance of intelligent and entertaining programming made by women, expressing the female point-of-view with the same universality traditionally held by male-oriented stories.
The first two episodes of Central Park are out now on Apple TV+, with future episodes releasing weekly.
So, how's it going?
(Laughs) It's okay! It's such a loaded question these days.
Right? So, you did an episode of Bob's Burgers back in 2014. Was that your first time working with Loren?
Yes, it was.
And is this kind of, like, an extension of that? Was it something like, you both had such a good time, they brought you back for this new show?
Yeah, I suppose so. It was a blast. I also know Josh Gad, socially. I've always been trying to do something together with him. So when I got the call about this, which was kind of, I knew it was something of a musical, that they were creating it with Nora Smith. But I knew nothing else about it. I knew the other artists who were attached to it, these incredible vocal artists, and that was basically what I had to go with, in terms of signing on. It was kind of a leap of faith, but not really, because I knew, with that kind of team involved, it was going to be something special. I knew it had to do with Central Park, but it was called something something else at the time. I kind of leapt in with nothing. No script, no music... Nothing. (Laughs) Just this feeling of, "Of course, with you guys!" And then, getting into the booth with them, you know, you're not with the other actors, so you have no idea. Loren was my acting partner. PS, he's an incredible acting partner.
He's a veteran by now, right?
He's such a shape shifter. He gives you so much and he's such a well-oiled machine at this point. He's just so incredible. You're working with somebody at the top of their game. And he just knows this form so well that it's really such a masterclass and such a privilege to be working with him in the booth. That was thrilling, to work with him. And then you have Josh and these incredible composers and music supervisors who are there to work through the music with you. It was a real exciting new challenge for me, certainly, who doesn't work in the musical world that often, to be able to throw myself into something new. It was a real thrill to take that leap with something new like this.
Was singing part of your audition?
No, I didn't have to audition, which was crazy. They just asked me to do it.
Did they know that you had the pipes?
I think they trusted that it would work out. I think I'm pretty good at karaoke! I played the Tin Man in high school, and Annie. I think they just trusted that they'd work through it with me. I can sing. I'm definitely not at the level of those guys, but I can definitely sing, and I can fake it until I make it, for sure! (Laughs) But it turns out, I love it! I love singing. And the more they gave me, the more I wanted to do it. I love it. I want to sing more and more.
Awesome, I hope you get to! I'm looking at your resume, and obviously I'm a huge fan, but it's crazy how, up to Mrs. Fletcher, there's so few leading roles, like, "first on the call sheet" or whatever they say about that. Maybe it's a lot to talk about, but do you have any commentary on the scarcity of leading roles for women in Hollywood? And, I suppose, the responsibility of getting to be the title character in a show with a female lead?
You know, it's interesting... Maybe because I've had the opportunities, but I've experienced an interesting chapter, certainly, oddly enough, since I turned 40, that there has been an explosion of women's stories being able to be told. And I've certainly been able to walk into a chapter where more women have been asking me to help tell those stories. And those are the stories that I'm gravitating towards. It seems women filmmakers are interested in having me help them to tell those stories. But historically, there's of course been a dearth of wanting to see the perspective of a woman on screen. I'm always annoyed that there has to be that divide. It drives me crazy, honestly, that there has to be this weird sub-niche of a woman's story. You know, it's our experience. That always drives me crazy.
Right. Like how men's stories are understood to be universal, but women's are not?
That's what drives me crazy. They're our stories. I just want to keep walking towards these experiences being told. There's so, so many. Now that I'm in my mid-40s, I'm walking towards telling more stories of what this experience is. I feel like there's so many... In my case, there's so many women who want those stories to be told. Our complicated, mysterious, untold, sexy, crazy, scary, hilarious stories of this chapter in our lives. It has yet to be explored, because, for so long, it was shrouded in shame and invisibility, and nobody wanted to tell those stories. I'm very excited that there seems to be more access and availability to it. I'm just never going to shut up about wanting to tell those stories! I think they're thrilling and fantastic. There's so many right now. I was just watching Miss America, and Insecure, and Better Things, and Fleabag. We are, interestingly, living in a time where I'm constantly inspired and overwhelmed by the amount of women who are creating their own material. I'm thrilled by it. I think we are in a really fertile, no pun intended, time for content made by incredible women.
You have a ton of incredible credits to your name. You've been around the block, and I feel you're finally getting the recognition you've always deserved. With that in mind, is there any work you've done that you're particularly proud of, but you feel like it didn't get the recognition it deserved? Something you'd like to shout-out for the Screen Rant reader?
That's an awesome question. I would say to check out I Love Dick.
I loved that show!
I think it was something that was interesting, but maybe was something that arrived a minute before its time, weirdly enough. I think viewers might find it really interesting to watch now. I'm really proud of that show and what we were trying to say about being unapologetic and without shame. And for a woman to be unabashed about her desires and her hunger.
The first two episodes of Central Park are out now on Apple TV+, with future episodes releasing weekly.