Sitting Down with the Creatives Behind "Big City Greens" Ahead of Fifth Season Premiere

Just ahead of the debut of the fifth season of Big City Greens on Disney Channel and Disney+, our own Ben Breitbart was able to sit with the creators of the series - brothers Chris and Shane Houghton - and season 5 executive producer, Anna O'Brian.

Together, Ben discussed with the group the latest season of the Emmy-winning hit series, which follows the offbeat adventures of 10-year-old Cricket Green, a mischievous and optimistic country boy who moves to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family — older sister Tilly, father Bill and Gramma Alice. Cricket’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm lead him and his family on epic journeys and into the hearts of his new neighbors. The new season is set to follow the family and their friends as they navigate some of their biggest adventures yet!

Let's hear what the creatives behind the series had to say about the new season.

Benji Breitbart 

Well, thanks so much for taking the time out to chat with me, and congratulations on season five. 

Chris Houghton 

Yeah, thank you. Thanks, Benji.

BB

Now, I'm not a member of the Walt Disney Archives, but if my recollection is correct, this is the longest Disney Channel animated series that's continuously run. I can't think of another that's in five seasons kind of in a row like this. What's it mean, looking back to when you first started, this series has had quite this accomplishment?

CH

Thank you. And first off, can I just say, take that, Gummi Bears? 

BB

Don't knock Gummi Bears. Dangerous territory. 

CH

We are so thrilled to be the longest running, consecutively running Disney series. It's been just amazing. And for this season we did a couple of things. We, first of all, brought along as a fellow executive producer, Anna O'Brian, to help run the series. Anna directed the movie and has been on the show since day one. And it's been a lot of fun. I mean, my God, did you guys think we were going to get to five seasons? 

Shane Houghton 

No, when people were, when we were doing the 100th episode, we did some interviews and a lot of people asked us, did you ever think you'd make it to 100 episodes? And then I was like, yeah, of course. But season five is like, you know, no, I didn't think we'd make it this far. 100 episodes, sure. But after that, you know, who knew? 

CH

But 101? 

SH

But yeah, we're the longest running consecutive, longest consecutive running show. animated show at [Disney Channel Animation]. The only show that beats us out is Phineas and Ferb, but they took a break and rebooted it with season five and six. And every time we see Dan and Swampy in the Halls, we have to physically fight for supremacy. But yeah, they're the only other competition that we have to struggle with. 

CH

And Swampy fights dirty. I'll just say that.  I'll put that out there. 

BB

Well, if you need some ammunition, you were the, in the Josh D'Amaro sizzle at D23, you were the [TV Animation] representatives. You got a big cheer. It was like Avengers Doomsday, Disneyland, and then Big City Greens.

CH

A fan took a photo and put it on Instagram. I just saw that this morning. That is so exciting. And man, I will have to say that like with season five, this would not be possible without the support of the fans. And certainly the support of Disney. Like this show was kind of this like little engine that could and in some ways maybe still is. We have such a passionate fan base that really shows up for our new episodes and are really curious to see what we do. It's been so fun to be able to sit down for, at the top of season five when we were planning this to go, okay, how do we keep this fun? How do we keep this surprising? What haven't we done? We've done a lot of episodes, like how do we keep this fresh? And, Now that we're kind of nearing the end of season five in production and have the ability to look back, I think we've done that. I hope the fans agree, but we are really proud of the season. It's very funny and silly and weird. 

BB

And Anna, you've obviously been with the show and you directed that fantastic movie (Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation). What's it like to now elevate a show, already in four seasons? You've been a part of it, but now you're asking for your new sort of perspective in the highest ranks of the show. 

Anna O'Brian 

I think when Chris and Shane asked me, I think I screamed "no!"  

CH

You did. That's true. 

AOB 

I think it was just like, "oh my God," first off, a position I never imagined myself on in this show. And how do you keep a fifth season fresh and exciting, not only for the audience, but for us? And weirdly, like Chris was saying, I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I think the answer was to like, go back to basics, go back to really, really simple, strong premises that have bite that the board artists and the writers can like push right up against the line, you know, not breaking the show, but like right up against it and just have fun. It's been so fun. It's been a total blast, like exceeded all expectations. I'm so proud of this season. I think the fans will love it. 

CH

Anna brought such freshness to this season. And it's funny, I am remembering when we asked you and you did scream "no!" And I think it's because Anna works so hard and throws herself into every role she's had on Big City Greens, the series, and then when she directed the movie. So I think, correct me if I'm wrong, Anna, but I think in one brief moment, you saw how busy you would be and how confident you would be about this role. And I don't know, did it frighten you?

AOB 

My life, like, flashed before my eyes. I think it was scary. It was, I knew it was gonna be a challenge. I knew was going to have to do this stuff, talk to people, and just kind of get comfortable, like more front facing. But the crew, truly, it was just thinking about the crew, these people we've had been so lucky to work with for like 10 years and grow up together and come into the industry together. And I was like, "oh, I'm in such good hands." So truly, it's the best. 

BB

And season five has quite an accomplished guest cast. I see Stephen King, Luke Combs, Dylan Sprouse, among many others. You got two Avengers in there, Clark Gregg and Cobie Smulders, Kevin Smith. What attracts all these folks? Obviously the show's great, but you have a who's who in your guest cast. 

CH

Yeah, we're so thankful whenever anyone says yes to an ask - and it always is an ask - We go to them with our hat in our hand and go, please. So we're thrilled when someone says yes. But specifically Luke Combs, he's in our premiere episode and does a fantastic job as Rusty Twang, this country star in Big City. And I don't believe Luke had done any voiceover in the past and this was a big role. And he himself is just skyrocketing in his career. When he came in and did a fantastic job, by the way, we also asked him the question you're asking us, which was, "hey, why did you say yes to this?" And it just so happened that he, a couple weeks before the offer came in, had been watching the show and just saw it on TV and really liked it. So that's been kind of new for the show. In season one, we would ask guest stars to join the cast and maybe they had never heard of the show or maybe it wasn't even out on TV yet. And now sometimes we will have people ask us to be on the show. And so it's just been great. And each guest star is a little different. Each person brings something different to the table. But everyone seems to be here for the same reason, which is just to have fun and be in a cartoon. And that's a delight. 

BB

And to wrap up, At D23, we were at a presentation that featured Drew Carter from ESPN, who did your hockey specials. And he went on this whole bit about how awesome Big City Greens was, and he discovered it through his research. What do you want to say to the fans that have discovered the show, whether it's Disney Channel, Disney Plus, or their kids watching and they fall in love with it, or that have really allowed this show to continue to grow and prosper that you're breaking records. What's your message to that fan community that has supported you? 

SH

I think it's a huge thank you. Thank you for everybody who's watching, for everybody who's told somebody about the show. We have such incredibly passionate fans. And working in TV, we make the show. It goes out there. It's not like a movie where we can sit in a theater and watch it with people. So it's always a little bit of a mystery of like, how is that episode received? But man, when we get our Disney+ numbers in or ratings, we're very pleasantly surprised with just how many people are watching and enjoying the show. And we get these little opportunities when somebody's family comes in and they'll maybe do a tour of the studio and we get to meet somebody or just this year we've actually done a couple of Make-A-Wish kids.

Their wish was to come and see how Big City Greens was made. And we were honored, you know, that was their like one wish. So we, you know, brought them in, had a great day with all of these kids. 

CH

The crew really showed up for those days. It was a lot of fun and everyone went all out. But yeah, wow, What an honor. 

SH

Yes, it really is a privilege and an honor to make characters that a generation of kids are coming up, saying like "Cricket is my favorite" or "Tilly's my favorite character." You know, families will dress up as the character for Halloween and all that is, it's kind of surreal. I don't know if we ever thought that would be the response to the show when we started, but it is so like heartwarming and satisfying... We have a production coordinator who finds all the stuff that people post online and prints it out and puts it up in our area. So we have walls of fan art. We have a wall of people who have dressed up for Halloween. So we try to celebrate our fans in our own space with our crew as much as our fans celebrate us in their lives. 

BB

Congratulations again. Congratulations, Anna. I know that this season's going to, you're going to contribute a lot and really take it to the next level. So thank you to all of you for making more. And we look forward to checking out on Disney Plus and Disney Channel. 

SH

Thank you, Benji. Wait, before we go, I got to ask, I heard you talked to Cricket Green. 

BB

I did talk to Cricket.

SH

How did it go? 

BB

He was surprisingly restrained. I was a little worried that like I'd end up in an adventure and I didn't end up in space or losing a tooth or anything like that. It was great but... 

CH

I'm happy to hear it, but I regret to inform you....Check your pocket for your wallet. 

You can see the full interview in our video below.

You can also check out Ben's encounter with Cricket Green in the video below.

The fifth season of Big City Greens will debut on Friday, August 21 at 8:00 PM on Disney Channel, with the first five episodes of the season streaming the next day on Disney+.