Schmigadoon! is an American musical comedy television series created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, with all songs written by Paul, who also serves as showrunner. The Apple TV+ series premiered in July 2021, starring an ensemble cast led by Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key. The story centres around a couple from New York, both doctors, who become trapped in magical musical theatre settings and learn lessons about love and happiness.
Blending satire and homage, Schmigadoon! alludes to numerous musicals in a pastiche of plots and song styles. The first season, set in the bucolic small town of Schmigadoon, blends elements of various Golden Age musicals of the 1940s and ’50s, while the second season relocates the action to the gritty city of Schmicago and incorporates the darker, edgier themes of 1960s and ’70s musicals.
In the first season, two New York doctors, Melissa and Josh, go on a backpacking trip in an attempt to patch up their failing relationship, only to find themselves still arguing. They get lost and soon discover a magical town called Schmigadoon, which is perpetually trapped in a Golden Age-style musical, and soon learn that they cannot leave the town until they find “true love”. The title and concept parody the 1947 musical Brigadoon.
In season 2, Melissa and Josh, now married, find their lives monotonous as doctors in New York City; they search for the quaint village of Schmigadoon but instead arrive in Schmicago, a world that pays satirical homage to sexy, dark 1960s and 1970s musicals; to escape, they are told, they must reach a happy ending. The name of the setting, Schmicago, parodies the 1975 musical Chicago. As in the first season, the last episode reaches beyond the time period of the rest of season 2 to reference later musical styles.
Cinco Paul had the idea for the show over 20 years before the series premiered, that it would be funny if two men, like the backpackers in An American Werewolf in London, stumbled upon a musical, instead of a horror story. According to Paul, the concept only fully came into focus for him when it changed to “a couple who are stuck there until they can find true love”. Paul said that even though Schmigadoon‘s season 1 musical style, characters and satire are largely based on 1940s and 1950s musicals, the sets and costumes reflect 1910s America, like the setting in The Music Man.
Barry Sonnenfield directed the first season, with choreography by Christopher Gattelli, and Cinco Paul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music & Lyrics for the song “Corn Puddin'”, featured in the pilot episode. The second season premiered in April 2023, directed by Alice Mathias and Robert Luketic, with Gattelli’s choreography. The series was not renewed for a third season. A stage adaption is planned to premiere at the Kennedy Centre in early 2025.
