Showrunner and Executive Producer Shane Houghton moderated the NYCC Big City Greens panel featuring brother and co-Executive producer Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Artemis Pebdani, Bob Joles, and Zeno Robinson. The discussion covered some big-time announcements for the upcoming conclusion to season 3 of the animated series, which has been in production for seven years and chronicles the fish-out-of-water adventures of the titular Green family after their move from the farm to Big City. The continuation of Season 3 will see the titular Green family return to the farm and deal with new challenges and adventures.
The cast delved into the series’ impact on their personal and professional lives. They spoke about the community atmosphere on the show and the more literal mechanics of doing voice work and maintaining production during the pandemic. Chris Houghton, who voices Cricket, discussed his eventual casting in the lead role as a non-actor. Zeno Robinson recounted how becoming a part of the Big City Green cast was a transformative opportunity that potentially saved his life.
Both Houghton brothers touched on the quasi-autobiographical inspiration for the series, taking characters inspired directly from their childhoods. Artemis Pebdani similarly shared that she draws on personal experiences and acquaintances to inject some piss and vinegar into her Grandma Alice character. Shane noted that Grandma, in particular, gets some attention in a recently aired episode, having stayed behind in Big City, with Jameela Jamil and Alfred Molina reprising their previous roles to resolve her absence on the farm.
The cast read through a series of potential genre-themed Big City Greens pilots in a particularly entertaining segment of the panel. The flurry of sketches jumped from the initial Frozen-themed iteration, where half the cast dies in the first five minutes, to the even more dour Green’s Anatomy version that couldn’t pass focus tests. The original bits showcased the Houghtons’ pervasive mining of pop culture references to inject a broad sense of humor and fun into the children’s series despite some surprisingly mature narrative touches.
Among the announcements at the panel was the upcoming holiday special, which will feature a Big City storyline introducing the first fully 3D sequences in the series. Shane mentioned that the 3D models and animations were created in Unreal Engine. The Houghtons also revealed the teaser for the planned Big City Greens movie, though details were limited. Big City Greens is streaming on Disney+.
Christian Davenport
cable201@comicattack.net
