Kristen Bell’s role of Molly on Central Park has been recast with actress Emmy Raver-Lampman

Last month, Kristen Bell made the conscious and proactive decision to step away from voicing a mixed-race role in an animated series on TV.

And now, that role – Molly on the Apple TV+ animated series Central Park – has found her new voice for the show’s second season: Umbrella Academy actress Emmy Raver-Lampman.

When making the decision, Bell, 40, cited a ‘lack of awareness’ of her ‘pervasive privilege’ in voicing the role, amid strained race relations that have gained attention throughout the country and on social media.

But on Friday, the Frozen star took to her Instagram to excitedly share the news. 

‘I am brimming with excitement to welcome Emmy Raver-Lampman to the “Central Park” cast as “Molly,” Kristen wrote alongside a headshot of the 31-year-old actress. 

‘Emmy’s infectious charm and sheer aptitude will breathe a new and effervescent life into the character. One that Molly definitely deserves,’ Bell continued.

Raver-Lampman, most known for her role of Allison Hargreeves on Netflix’s X-Men-esque series Umbrella Academy, is also famous for being a member of the original ensemble cast of Broadway musical juggernaut Hamilton. 

Emmy also has a handful of previous voice credits to her name, for popular animated shows Robot Chicken and American Dad!

Central Park, from the creator of Bob’s Burgers, premiered at the end of May.

It tells the musical story of a biracial family of caretakers who both manage and live in New York City’s famed Central Park, where they get involved in high jinx that eventually lead to them ‘saving the park, and basically the world,’ according to the show’s IMDb synopsis.

‘After an extensive casting process that brought a number of incredible contenders to the forefront of our Molly search, we could not be more thrilled, honored, and certain that we have found the perfect marriage of character to voice in the amazing Emmy Raver-Lampman,’ the show’s creative team announced in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. 

‘From the moment we heard her Molly, we knew she was the right choice. Her comedic chops, endearing spirit and other-worldly singing prowess have us jumping with joy at the possibilities of this already wonderful character moving forward. 

‘Our gratitude for and thanks to Kristen Bell and the fantastic work she did in Season 1 can never be overstated. And as we look for new ways to utilize Kristen’s brilliant vocal talents moving forward, we are forever grateful for her support, her camaraderie, and most importantly her beautiful performance as Molly Tillerman in Season 1. We consider ourselves lucky to have both of these women as part of our Central Park family with so many more stories ready to be told,’ the statement concluded.

On June 24th, Bell announced via social media that she was stepping down from voicing the character, with a frank and candid statement on her Instagram.

‘Casting a mixed race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience,’ she wrote.   

‘This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. Here is one of mine. Playing the character of Molly on Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege,’ she also said. 

Kristen’s message was posted alongside the series’ official statement, from the team which includes producers Loren Bouchard, Josh Gad, Nora Smith, Halstead Sullivan and Sanjay Shah.

After much reflection from Kristen and the Central Park staffers, they said they believed her character ‘is an opportunity to get representation right.’

‘We profoundly regret that we might have contributed to anyone’s feeling of exclusion or erasure,’ the series’ producers wrote.

‘Black people and people of color have worked and will continue to work on Central Park but we can do better,’ they added.

Bell will ‘continue to be a part of the heart of the show in a new role,’ and was applauded for her ‘funny, heartfelt, and beautiful performance’ in the first season. 

The news follows Jenny Slate’s statement that she will no longer voice Missy Foreman-Greenwald on Big Mouth.

‘I have come to the decision today that I can no longer play the character of Missy on the animated TV show Big Mouth,’ the 38-year-old actress wrote on Instagram.

She explained: ‘At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play Missy because her mom is Jewish and white — as am I.’

Ultimately, Slate concluded ‘Missy is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people.’