Big City Greens
Big City Greens is an American animated television series created by The Houghton Brothers that premiered on Disney Channel on June 18, 2018. The series follows the Green family—siblings Cricket and Tilly, their father Bill, and their Gramma Alice—as they navigate life in the bustling, fictional Big City after moving from their countryside home. Among the supporting characters are Cricket's best friend Remy, the children's mother and Bill's ex-wife Nancy, and their family friend Gloria.
The series features the voices of co-creator Chris Houghton, Marieve Herington, Bob Joles, Artemis Pebdani, Zeno Robinson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Anna Akana. In March 2016, Disney XD picked it up for production under the title of Country Club; it had later been renamed to Big City Greens by July 2017. The series is produced by Disney Television Animation, with executive producers including creators Chris and Shane Houghton, alongside Rob Renzetti, Stephen Sandoval, and Anna O'Brian.
The series has received positive reviews from critics for its comedy, characters, and central family dynamic. The fourth season concluded in August 2025, and a fifth season was ordered in June 2024.
A film titled Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation premiered in June 2024. A spin-off series is in development.
Premise
After losing his farm in the country town of Smalton, Bill Green and his two children, Cricket and Tilly, move in with his mother, Alice Green, who lives on a small farm in the middle of a city known as "Big City". They have different misadventures there and occasionally contend with a crooked supermarket manager named Chip Whistler. Major recurring characters include Cricket's friend Remy Remington and café worker Gloria Sato.By the second half of season three, Bill moves his family back to Smalton after regaining his farm. Starting in season four, Cricket, Tilly, and Bill balance between going back and forth from Big City to Smalton, where Nancy, Bill's ex-wife and the mother of Cricket and Tilly, manages the farm.
Episodes
Characters
Main
- Cricket Green is a 10-year-old troublemaking and mischievous country boy who is always barefoot. His middle name comes from his late paternal grandfather. He is fascinated by every discovery he makes in Big City, but never knows what he might uncover. His naive, reckless, impulsive, troublesome, and hyperactive nature often lead him to cause conflicts for his family and throughout the city, but he is fundamentally a good-natured person; his actions are often as entirely self-serving as they are a misguided attempt to help his friends, family and others with their problems, and if those around him are blunt enough about his unpleasant moments, he will more than likely learn from them and not make the same mistake twice. He gets a job at Big Coffee in "Critterball Crisis" until it closed in "Chipwrecked". Later, he worked as a delivery boy at the Gloria + Green Café in the early episodes of Season 3, until his family moved back to Smalton in "The Move".
- Tilly Green is Cricket's older sister, with an eccentric and imaginative nature. She is frequently accompanied by Saxon, a homemade doll Tilly created out of an old sack. She is normally very cheerful, incredibly kind, and a pacifist by nature, though she has moments of selfishness, like her younger brother; this was shown in the episode "Mama Bird" when she was angry and jealous because the birds didn't show any affection towards her and instead favored Cricket. With that said, she is usually pleasant to be around.
- Billiam Robert "Bill" Green is Cricket and Tilly's father and Gramma Alice's son. A skilled farmer, Bill is overprotective, cautious, and slightly forgetful, having lost part of a finger because of a hay baler accident, but competent all the same. It is later revealed that his full name is Billiam Robert Green.
- Alice Delores Green, often referred to as Gramma Alice, is Bill's cantankerous and combative mother and Cricket and Tilly's paternal grandmother, who owns the Green family farm in Big City. She frequently exhibits this behavior to hide her love and affection for her family.
- Remy Remington is Cricket's best friend, whom he meets shortly after moving to Big City. He comes from a rich family – being optimistic and fun-loving, but he also struggles with his self-confidence. He later tags along with the Greens in their move back to Smalton.
- Nancy Green is Cricket and Tilly's mother and Bill's ex-wife. A former biker with a rebellious streak, she was briefly incarcerated for trying to free cows from a factory before being released after the family moved to Big City. While they are divorced, she and Bill remain good friends and she is a frequent presence in the children's lives. Nancy even moves with the family when they buy their farm in Smalton back and continues to run the farm when they return to Big City.
- Gloria Sato is the former barista at Big Coffee, who becomes friends and co-workers with Cricket. She dreams of one day saving up enough money to leave Big City and move to Paris. After "Chipocalypse Now", Gloria, who lost her Big Coffee job, gets evicted from her apartment and moves in with the Greens. In the Season 2 finale, "Gloria's Cafe" she and the Greens open the Gloria + Green Café.
Recurring
- Phoenix is the Green family's pet dog. Her speaking voice is shown in the episodes featuring the farm animals.
- Officer Keys is a muscular Big City police officer with an overly cheery and oblivious personality. He can get serious at times when policing people.
- Kiki Kitashima, Westley "Weezie" Eastman, and Benny are a trio of children that frequently play with Cricket, Tilly, and Remy.
- Brett Eze is the Greens' easygoing next-door neighbor living in apartment #310 at 5309 West Elkins Street who works at an animal shelter.
- Chip Whistler is the main antagonist of the series, the Green family's rival, and manager of the Wholesome Foods supermarket, a parody of Whole Foods Market. A running gag is that his attempts to defeat the Greens usually end with his front tooth chipped and a whistling noise coming out through it whenever he speaks, ironically making his name a descriptor. His front tooth would always be repaired by his next appearance. While having been launched out of Big City in his helicopter in season two with Mayor Hansock banishing him, he was thought to be dead until season four where he was revealed to have used the alias of "Norm Alguy". After that brief tenure, he began his plans to have his revenge on the Greens and Big City. He and allies enacted his plans to frame the Greens for ruining Big City. After Chip was defeated by Cricket with his teeth coming out, he and his allies were arrested by Officer Keys and the rest of the Big City Police Department. He was given a triple life sentence in prison.
- * Wholesome Greg is a worker at Wholesome Foods who is nicknamed "Wholesome Greg" by his boss Chip Whistler. In season four, Greg was reunited with an incognito Chip Whistler as he realigns with him in Chip's plot to get revenge on the Greens and Big City. During the final showdown, Wholesome Greg surrendered after seeing Cricket best Viper Fang, Spider Fang, and Wolf Fang.
- * Babe is a woman in Big City who Chip Whistler in his "Norm Alguy" alias fell in love with. When she found out his true identity, she surprised Chip by actually supporting him. After being defeated by Bill, Gramma Alice, and Tilly, she shared Chip's triple life sentence.
- Vasquez is Remy's loyal but fiercely protective bodyguard who watches over him when Remy's parents are away. He used to be known as Tiger Fang when he was originally a member of the Order of the Fang where his defection to the Remington family contributed to the defeat of the Order of the Fang's unnamed master.
- Rashida Remington is Remy's well-to-do mother who works as a lawyer.
- Russell Remington is Remy's father and Rashida's husband. He is a lawyer and former football player for the Big City Bengals.
- Ms. Miriam Cho is the former owner of Big Coffee and Gloria and Cricket's boss. She only communicates via grunting until "Chipwrecked" where Chip Whistler bribes Ms. Cho into retirement which results in Big Coffee closing. Upon leaving, she shouts "Peace out, my dudes!" Ms. Cho has not been seen since.
- Andromeda is Tilly's best friend. She is a conspiracy theorist with a strong belief in aliens, supernatural phenomena, and government cover-ups. In her first appearance, she implies that Andromeda is not her real name.
- Alucard Grigorian is an old Armenian man who is the neighbor of Brett and the Greens living in apartment #204 at 5309 West Elkins Street and has personal issues with Gramma. His first name was revealed in "Chipocalypse Now".
- Gabriella Espinosa is Cricket's friend and female counterpart. She's as troublemaking and rambunctious as Cricket is as well as sharing his interests. Prior to "Split Decision", she and Cricket were dating before Gabriella broke up with him to pursue new interests; however, she still remains on good terms with Cricket.
- Gregly is Cricket's grumpy friend who has a habit of screaming everything he says.
- Maria Media is a local news reporter in Big City.
- Sue, often referred to as Community Sue, is the director of the Big City Community Center. She constantly shouts during conversations and regularly encourages others to adopt more health-conscious behaviors. Her last name is Lanemoto.
- Gwendolyn Zapp is the CEO of the BigTech technology company. She is an eccentric and slightly mad inventor, creating high-tech products that tend to go haywire.
- Good Ol' Joe is Bill's best friend in Smalton who shares his interests.
- Mayor Hansock is the bumbling, dramatic, eccentric, and man-childish Mayor of Big City.
- Viper Fang is a viper-themed member of the Order of the Fang and an old enemy of Vasquez. He and two of his fellow Order of the Fang Members Spider Fang and Wolf Fang later attacked Remington Manor while Vasquez was away and allied with Chip Whistler when he withstood Vasquez's attacks. When it came to Chip Whistler's revenge on the Greens which involved framing them for ruining Big City, Viper Fang, Spider Fang, and Wolf Fang were defeated by Cricket and were arrested by the Big City Police Department.
- Doug Perkins is a neighbor of the Greens, Brett, and Mr. Grigorian living at apartment #204 at 5309 West Elkins Street.
- Patti is the owner, manager, and chef of Patti's Diner in Smalton.
- Wayne is a waiter at Patti's Diner in Smalton.
- Hector is Cricket's old friend from the Smalton Scrapyard.
- Lupita is Hector's little boisterous sister.
- Sunday is Hector's peace-loving girlfriend.
- Tracy Hicks is a resident of Smallton.
- Trey Hicks is a pot-bellied shirtless resident of Smallton and the husband of Tracy.
- Frank is an everyman resident of Smallton. He does various odd jobs like mail carrier, plumber, mechanic, nail technician, election official, doctor, lawyer, dentist, firefighter, data specialist, food health administrator, balloon artist, garbage man, babysitter, pizza maker, designer, race official, and sheriff.
- Nick is Nancy's estranged ne'er-do-well father and Cricket and Tilly's maternal grandfather. He previously appeared in flashbacks in the episodes "Greens' Acres" and "Rat Tail" before appearing in Season 4 to meet and spend time with his grandchildren and the rest of the family. His last name is revealed to be Mulligan.
- Jade is a girl who becomes the shift manager at Gloria + Green Café.
Notable guest stars
- Judge Uppinsbottom appears in "Tilly's Goat".
- Waiter appears in "Fill Bill".
- Fish appears in "Fill Bill".
- Pepper Merchant appears in "Feud Fight".
- Louis appears in "Big Deal".
- Jyle appears in "Night Bill".
- Dr. Enamel appears in "Hurty Tooth".
- Wyatt appears in "Park Pandemonium".
- Donny Tinselton appears in "Cricket's Kapowie".
- Hair Stylist appears in "Cricket's Kapowie".
- Santa Claus appears in "Green Christmas".
- Mr. Whistler appears in "Reckoning Ball" and "Chipwrecked".
- Grampa Ernest Green appears in "Garage Tales" and "One Hundred".
- Cogburn appears in "Animal Farm" and "Homeward Hound".
- Other Bill Green appears in "Animal Farm".
- Gina appears in "Desserted".
- Canteloupe Sinclair appears in "Dolled Up".
- Tom Hanks speaks offscreen at the end of "Cheap Show".
- Mimi O'Malley appears in "Cricket's Tickets".
- Gertie appears in "Super Gramma!".
- Librarian appears in "Quiet Please".
- Chairwoman appears in "Chipwrecked".
- Ronald Featherman appears in "Winter Greens".
- Kevin appears in "Winter Greens".
- Kara Karaoke appears in "Okay Karaoke".
- Burger Clown CEO appears in "Fast Foodie" and "Dollar Sense".
- Rick appears in "The Van".
- Community Dan appears in "Bat Girl".
- Janice appears in "Papaganda".
- Dirk appears in "No Service".
- Mr. Fluffenfold appears in "DependaBill".
- Ms. Torres appears in "The Delivernator".
- Frilled Lizard appears in "Rembo".
- Tina appears in "Pizza Deliverance".
- Mr. Extras appears in "Virtually Christmas".
- Ernie appears in "Dog Mayor" and "TP'd".
- Merv Stampington appears in "Long Goodbye".
- Truckee's Mascot appears in "Truck Stopped".
- Bonnie Spark appears in "Jingled".
- Rick Razzle appears in "Jingled".
- Jessica Burns appears in "Stand-Up Bill".
- Emcee appears in "Stand-Up Bill".
- Serenity Spruce appears in "Junk Junkie".
- Mikey LeBeouf appears in "Iced".
- Chet Handsomeman appears in "Iced".
- Corn Dog Vendor appears in "Iced".
- Zamboni Toni appears in "Iced".
- Dr. Maya Bloom appears in "Unguarded".
- Claire appears in "Starter Pack".
- Bank Boss appears in "Dollar Sense".
- Spider Fang appears in "Evil Family" and "Chip's Revenge".
- Wolf Fang appears in "Evil Family" and "Chip's Revenge".
- Sauce Boss appears in "Freebie Frenzy".
- Chocolate Santa appears in "Chocolate Santa".
- Archemoris appears in "One Hundred".
- Mob Leader appears in "Chip's Revenge".
- Debbie Upton appears in "Charity Case".
- Allen/Jagger appears in "Locked In".
- Saxon appears in "Saxon Saxability".
- Lord Argyle appears in "Saxon Saxability".
- Lady Mopsley appears in "Saxon Saxability".
- Jim Owner appears in "Flexed".
- Concerned Gym Bro appears in "Flexed".
- Hostess appears in "Short Wait".
- Suzette Blair appears in "Short Wait".
- Santos appears in "Mulligan'd".
- Dr. Ponderstein appears in "Rehashed History".
- Ringmaster appears in "Unplanned".
Production
During production for the first season, an episode titled "Hands-On History" was in development, with the production number 110. The episode was directed by Monica Ray, from a story by Carson Montgomery, also being written and storyboarded by Caldwell Tanner and Cheyenne Curtis. It featured Mark Hamill in the role of Dr. Ponderstein, a sinister curator who ran a museum. The plot focused on Cricket and Remy at odds with one another, over Ponderstein's method of educating children. The episode was shelved when the Houghton Brothers found Remy's behavior in the episode unlikeable - they could not find a way to make the story work so early in the show's run. On cancelling the episode, co-creator Chris Houghton stated, "e killed that episode for the best of reasons: it just didn’t work. We broke and re-broke the story a ton of times. Reboarded it again and again. Sometimes the best course of action is to take your creation out behind the shed, ya know?" Despite prior claims, the episode was revived for season four as "Rehashed History".
Release
When announced, the series was scheduled to premiere in 2018 on Disney XD; however, on March 26, 2018, it was reported that the series would debut on Disney Channel in mid-2018. On May 17, 2018, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the series would premiere on Disney Channel as part of Disney Channel's GO! Summer on June 18, 2018. The series premiere was made available for streaming via the DisneyNow app and the Disney Channel YouTube channel as of June 8, 2018. Additional new episodes premiered every Monday and Wednesday at 10:00 AM throughout the summer. In addition, Big City Greens shorts began airing on Disney Channel and Disney Channel's YouTube channel on June 4, 2018.New episodes are frequently added to Disney+, sometimes before they even air on Disney Channel. For season one, the episodes are placed in "chronological" order, with some episode pairings getting swapped around to accommodate for this. Co-creator Shane Houghton revealed that the order presented on Disney+ is the true order.
Reception
Critical response
Bekah Burbank of LaughingPlace.com praised the characters of the series, writing, "While the mischief and antics are super silly and completely ridiculous, the characters themselves are quite fun. Just like it is with every family, the quirkiness is what you come to love most about the people you spend time with. The Green family might not be perfect, but they’re positive, supportive, and optimistic no matter the situation. Everyone could benefit from spending a little time with this wacky family." Dave Trumbore of Collider asserted, "The animated series does a solid job of delivering fish-out-of-water laughs alongside some good, old-fashioned heart, making for a refreshing story that has one foot in the country and one in the city."Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave Big City Greens a grade of four out of five stars and complimented the presence of positive messages and role models, writing, "Big City Greens is a quirky but heartwarming animated series about a family that moves from the country to the city and doesn't quite fit in. Despite mining familiar stereotypes of rural dwellers the show has strong family-centric themes and silly, lighthearted laughs." Jaclyn Appelgate of Comic Book Resources ranked Big City Greens 5th in their "Best Currently Airing Kids' Cartoons" list, saying, "Both children and parents alike are entertained by the hilarious comedy and the lighthearted emphasis on family. Although the plot is simple in nature, being about a country family who goes to live in the big city, it's one of those shows viewers can rely on after a long day. Many fans even consider it a PG version of The Simpsons, which would explain why adults enjoy watching it as well."