‘Schmigadoon!’ Season 3 and Its 25 New Songs Aren’t Happening at Apple

Wilson Chapman
·3 min read
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“Schmigadoon” has run out of its signature “Corn Puddin’.” The Apple TV+ musical-comedy series has been canceled after two seasons on the streamer.

Series co-creator Cinco Paul announced the news on Instagram. In his post, Paul revealed that scripts for a third season have already been written, along with 25 new songs that would have been featured had it been renewed.

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“I am sad to share that Apple will not be moving forward with Season 3 of Schmigadoon!” Paul wrote on January 18. “The season is written (including 25 new songs) but we unfortunately won’t be making it. Such is life. I want to thank everyone involved with the show, our incredible cast and crew and writers, our wonderful supporters at Broadway Video, Universal, and Apple, for everything they did to make it happen.”

Paul called it “a miracle” that “Schmigadoon!” got the two seasons that it did.

“And to all the fans of the show out there — thank you with all of my heart,” he continued. “Your love and support has meant so much, and that you connected with our show, that it brought you some joy, means the world to me.”

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A post shared by Cinco Paul (@cincopedia)

Season 1 of “Schmigadoon!” premiered in 2021. Riffing on the basic concept of the 1947 Tony-winning musical “Brigadoon,” the series starred Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key as Melissa and Josh, doctors and a longterm couple in a rocky patch of their relationship. In the first season, the pair stumble upon the remote town of Schmigadoon and soon discover they can’t leave the town until they understand true love. In the end they get there — and get out of there. Each episode features multiple original musical numbers, patterned from “Brigadoon” and other musicals of the ’40s and ’50s, written by Paul.

The six-episode sophomore outing of “Schmigadoon!” premiered in April 2023 and ended in May. In Season 2, Josh and Melissa grow bored of the real world. An attempt to return to Schmigadoon leaves them in the edgier new setting of “Schmicago,” which is inspired by the darker, jazzier musicals of the ’60s and ’70s. When Josh gets arrested for the murder of a chorus girl in Schmicago, he and Melissa must navigate the city’s corrupt politics and find a “happy ending” before they can return to their real lives.

Both seasons of “Schmigadoon!” received mostly positive reviews from critics. Paul received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for Season 1’s “Corn Puddin’.”

“Schmigadoon!” featured a massive ensemble cast, including any veterans of musical theater. Ariana DeBose, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, and Aaron Tveit starred in both seasons, playing different characters in each season inspired by different classic musical-theater characters. Martin Short also starred in both seasons as the fantastical world’s “guardian leprechaun.” Fred Armisen was featured in the Season 1 cast; Tituss Burgess and Patrick Page joined the series in its second season.

Paul co-created “Schmigadoon!” with Ken Daurio. The series was produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group and Broadway Video. Strong’s former “Saturday Night Live” boss Lorne Michaels executive produces the series along with Andrew Singer on behalf of Broadway Video; Micah Frank as the co-executive producer.

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