Schmigadoon season 2 review: A delightful return to form for the musical comedy series

Part of the fun of this season (I've seen all six episodes) comes if you know enough about not only the spoofed shows, but also the respective CVs of some of these actors. It's kind of funny to see Cumming and Chenoweth bouncing around again, in very different roles than they had in the first season; it's even funnier to watch them complaining about the orphans they have to deal with, especially if you remember they played the incorrigible Rooster and Lily respectively in the TV movie version of "Annie" over 20 years ago . It's quite nice to see DeBose as the MC of a seedy "Cabaret"-style nightclub before remembering that one of Alan Cumming's roles in the United States was... to play the MC in a true Broadway revival of "Cabaret". And so on.

The other twist of this season is to reverse the scenario of its predecessor. The opening season put Josh and Melissa at odds because Josh was almost vehemently unfamiliar with and uninterested in the referenced Broadway musicals, while Melissa not only recognized them, but was more than happy to s involved in the musical procedure. This time around, due to childhood trauma, Melissa is only dimly aware of the shows serving as inspiration for this parable, and Josh finds himself almost instantly hooked on the more adult, darker tones exhibited by the nightclub dancers, thieves and the like. It's a natural progression from where the show has gone (also ensuring a lack of distracting mid-show commentary about how disconcerting it is for the characters to get up and sing and dance all the time). p>

If there's one potentially risky aspect, it's this: if you're familiar with shows like "Chicago," "Cabaret," and "Sweeney Todd," you know what makes these musicals so memorable and effective is that they don't shy away from the dark. "Cabaret" is full of slick, skillful music, and seeing as it's set in Germany at the start of the Nazi regime, it doesn't attempt to sweeten things up with a happy ending. "Sweeney Todd" is about a crazed ex-con who kills people and turns them into meat pies (reductive, but still accurate). These aren't bright, happy shows, nor is another of this season's inspirations, "Hair," whose hippie characters are embittered by the onslaught of the Vietnam War. "Schmigadon!" is still, at its heart, a show that loves its two main characters and is invested enough in their happiness that it doesn't indulge too deeply in darkness. (Suffice it to say, there are no real Nazis or human meat pies this season.)

But those are still trivial questions in what has stealthily become one of the most delightful shows of the streaming era to date. "Schmigadon!" wears his heart on his sleeve, even when things get too dark or too groovy (there's quite a bit of hippie humor, allowing Key to play a few extra notes in Josh's repertoire). Key and Strong are smoothly slipping back into their roles, and the actors around them are only too happy to playfully embrace and muddle Broadway musical tropes. "Schmigadon!" felt like an unexpected magic trick the first time around, and miraculously, the second season is just as winning.

Season 2 of 'Schmigadoon' premieres April 5 on Apple TV+.