Review: 'Schmigadoon' is all that jazz and then some in 'Chicago'-themed Season 2

What a joy it is to return to "Schmigadoon!" (Even if it's sort of called "Schmicago" now.)

Apple TV+'s series, about a couple trapped in a mystical land where every day is a musical, was a delight when it premiered in 2021, offering pitch-perfect parodies of classic musicals including "The Music Man," "The Sound of Music" and, of course, "Brigadoon." With a happy ending and a kicky soundtrack, "Schmigadoon," which stars Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong and host of Broadway veterans, seemed to come to a logical conclusion. But there is more to musical theater than the happy-go-lucky tales from the 1950s.

Drawing inspiration from the darker, sexier shows of the 1960s and '70s (think "Chicago," "Sweeney Todd" and "Pippin"), creators Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio have found more to poke at in the lovable genre. The result is "Schmigadoon!" Season 2 (streaming Wednesdays, ★★★½ out of four), an even more enjoyable affair with better music and a cheekily absurdist tone that makes the series just silly enough to be serious.

In the first season, Key and Strong played an unmarried couple struggling with stagnation and malaise. Now, Josh (Key) and Melissa (Strong) have tied the knot and started a new life together. But unsuccessful attempts at starting a family have brought them both down, and it's out of desperation that Josh suggests they try to find Schmigadoon for another visit.

They make it across a bridge to a magical musical locale, but this isn't Kansas anymore. It's "Schmicago" – a jazzy, dank, fishnet-filled city where the cops are crooked and hotels charge by the hour. The couple had to prove their true love to get out of Schmigadoon, but to get out of Schmicago they need to write themselves a happy ending.

As Melissa helpfully points out, however, musicals from the '70s didn't usually have happy endings. Case in point: Josh is arrested for a murder he didn't commit, and Melissa becomes the object of affection for the terrifying crime boss who runs the town.

Season 1 review: Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong star in a musical you didn't know you needed

In their search for happiness among nightclub dancers, hippies and starving orphans, Melissa and Josh meet the same people they saw in Schmigadoon, playing different roles. Alan Cumming, for example, the mayor of Schmigadoon, is  now a Sweeney Todd-like butcher with a murderous streak. Other returning cast members include Dove Cameron, Kristin Chenoweth, Aaron Tveit, Jane Krakowski, Jaime Camil, Tituss Burgess, Ariana DeBose and Martin Short.

The new season is veritable candy for musical-theater nerds. There are homages to famous songs like "Mein Herr" from "Cabaret" and "Corner of the Sky" from "Pippin" that are so accurate and cutting they'll leave Broadway devotees doubled over in laughter. The songs from the first season were fun but often forgettable; Season 2's crop of numbers are earworms that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Some of the very specific references that make up the big old meat pie of Schmicago might leave viewers without a Broadway background a little cold. The story is muddied because the historical eras that settings for '60s and '70s musicals run the gamut from the 1800s to the 1920s to the 1970s themselves – Summer of Love hippies crossing paths with Jazz Age flappers and Victorian mistresses. But like the messier plots of many a great musical, the spectacle usually makes up for the story shortfalls.

Josh and Melissa may not get their happy ending in Schmicago, but one can only hope it won't keep them from a third visit to "Schmigadoon!" The audience deserves parodies of '80s and '90s musicals from this cast and these creators.

Just imagine Key in the "Phantom of the Opera" mask. The yucks write themselves.

'Schmigadoon!': Cecily Strong's show (lovingly) pokes fun at 'problematic' Golden Age musicals

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Schmigadoon' Season 2 review: All that jazz in 'Chicago' season