Gad, who co-created the series alongsideBob’s BurgersmastermindsLoren Bouchardand Nora Smith, features asCentral Park’snarrator, Birdie.
However, the omniscient, offbeat Birdie shares Gad’s distinctive gravelly voice with Olaf, but little else.
“Birdie is very different than Olaf,” he tells EW.
Credit: Disney, Christopher Polk/Getty Images; Apple TVPlus
“Olaf has this innocent naivety.
Birdie is more of like a scatological narrator, who is not entirely a dependable narrator.
He is almost like a guardian angel to Owen (Leslie Odom Jr.).
He’s just not very good at his job.”
Birdie presides over the proceedings with wry commentary, as well as advice for Owen and his family.
Gad admits they did initially write aFrozenjoke into the script.
and I think Birdie said, ‘Why does this feel so familiar?'"
JOSH GAD:I had been developing this idea of doing a musical for some time.
I didn’t know the first thing about developing anything for television animation.
I wanted it to be musical.
That was pretty much it.
And that wasn’t really getting the job done.
Lo and behold, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
And I go, “No, no, no you guys do five songs a season onBob’s.
I want five songs an episode.”
That was definitely met with a lot of eyebrow-raising.
But to his credit, he stuck with it and we were able to achieve the unthinkable.
You helped create live-action series1600 Penn, but what made you want to pursue animation on television?
I am a musical theater and a musical nut, right?
It was all about marrying that idea with the right person to execute it.
What was it like striking out from the more kid-focused Disney model?
So there is definitely an opportunity to cross and appeal to everybody who watches it for different reasons.
Loren has said you were instrumental in assembling this cast.
Can you tell me more about that process and how essential Broadway bonafides were to you?
He said that to me because that was his process onBob’s.
So did you build the characters around them then?
Equally as important is the songwriting team, so how did that come together?
I basically said to them, “Look, I want to do something really ambitious.
We need a proof of concept.
Can you guys on spec write two songs for a pilot presentation we’re doing?”
That moment had been written but once the pilot evolved, it needed to encompass more storytelling.
Once both of those songs came in, it became very clear what the potential of this would be.
It’s really blossomed into something beyond my wildest dreams where it could have been.
Do you have a favorite song or musical genre you explore this season?
There are so many different genre-bending motifs that you’ll see arise.
This is a show dedicated to communities gathering in public space.
Does it feel at all bittersweet that it’s premiering under global circumstances that virtually prevent that?
No, actually, it’s just the opposite.
I don’t think it would do anybody any good if we had a musical about people quarantined.
