Cinco Paul Teases Martin Short's Role in Canceled Third Season of SCHMIGADOON!

Schmigadoon! creator Cinco Paul has once again shared what fans could have expected from the third season of the canceled musical series.

In a new post on X, Paul revealed that Season 3, which would been billed as "Into the Schmoods" (an obvious reference to Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods) would have featured Martin Short channeling David Bowie as the goblin king Jareth from Jim Henson's Labyrinth. Paul had previously listed the 1986 fantasy musical film as among the musicals planned to be covered in the show. He added that Short, who played a leprechaun in the first two seasons, also had "two of the best songs" written for the season. Take a look at the post below!

Other shows that were to be parodied in Season 3 included Cats, Assassins, Big River, Beauty and the Beast, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Sunset Boulevard, The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors, Rent, An American Tail, Barnum, Side Show, The Phantom of the Opera, City of Angels, Sunday in the Park with George, Les Miserables, Merrily We Roll Along, Dick Tracy, Hercules, The Wiz, Aladdin, Nine, Xanadu, Starlight Express, and Evita.

In a previous interview with Variety, Tony-award-winning actor Alan Cumming also confirmed that the next season would have been a parody of the mega-musicals of the 1980s and 1990s such as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Les Misérables. Cumming's role would have been a variation on a mashup of the Phantom and Les Misérables' Jean Valjean.

“It would have been a hoot," Cumming said, before adding “In a way, it’s actually lovely that it didn’t run itself into the ground, but it would have been nice to do one more.”

Earlier this year, it was announced that Schmigadoon! was canceled, despite the third season already having been written. However, the life of the show will continue in another form, as Schmigadoon! will be making its world premiere on stage in 2025. Tickets are on sale now.

Season one of Schmigadoon! parodied iconic Golden Age musicals, as stars Strong and Key as a couple on a backpacking trip designed to reinvigorate their relationship who discover a magical town living in a 1940s musical. The season referenced Brigadoon, Carousel, Music Man, and more. 

Season two was set in the world of musicals from the '60s and '70s, parodying musicals like Chicago, Cabaret, Annie, Oliver!, Sweeney Todd, Sweet Charity, Company, Pippin, Godspell, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Chorus Line, and more.

The series starred Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key, featuring Broadway stars like Ariana DeBose, Martin Short, Dove Cameron, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, Aaron Tveit, Tituss Burgess, and Patrick Page.

Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas