TV Talk: Ben Folds talks crazy Pittsburgh cab ride, Apple’s ‘Snoopy’ summer musical

In addition to his role as music supervisor on Apple TV+’s “Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical,” streaming Aug. 15, singer-songwriter Ben Folds has some unique Pittsburgh ties involving a former mayor, Mister Rogers’ company and a wild taxi ride. I’ll get to those shortly.

But first, there’s this new, 40-minute animated special, which Apple says is the first new “Peanuts” musical in three decades. In this outing, Charlie Brown and friends work to save their beloved summer camp from closure.

“A Summer Musical” marks Folds’ second effort in Apple’s “Peanuts” universe, having previously worked on 2022’s “Snoopy Presents: It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown.”

“I got all the star-struck stuff out of my system,” Folds said in a recent Zoom interview of his first effort. “I didn’t worry as much about the shadow of (original 1960s-era “Peanuts” composer) Vince Guaraldi and all that. … I learned from the first one, and they did, too, that the best way for me to get my vision across is to be able to direct the children singing.”

For the song “When We Were Light” in “A Summer Musical,” Folds played all the instruments — except the horns — and recorded the children.

“It was on Zoom and it’s not the easiest way to conduct a session, but the kids were awesome,” Folds said. “The most meaningful was recording the lead vocal because I was able to talk to the actor singing the part. Charlie Brown’s got a stunt vocal double on this, so there’s the kid that was the singer, and he was great, but we needed to talk about why Chuck is sad, and who he is, and the kind of personality (he has). (Charlie Brown) is not a kid that normally sings, so you don’t get to use your incredible chops. This (actor) kid was the singer who could sing anything — and the first couple passes he did — but that’s not Charlie Brown, right? Charlie Brown’s not the kind of kid to go elbowing his way to the front of the choir and singing solos. He doesn’t want to be seen. That’s why the song is a waltz. It’s quiet. It’s in solitude. Other people aren’t listening.”

Folds, best known as front man of the now-disbanded alt-rock band Ben Folds Five, said he did some work in Pittsburgh before the pandemic on a different proposed children’s music series for Fred Rogers Productions.

“We filmed some there, and we had a really good idea that didn’t really make it through covid because it required groups of kids coming together and singing together,” Folds said. “We hung on as long as we could, but it didn’t make it. The Mister Rogers people, they’re total legends. For not living in Pittsburgh, I certainly was a regular in Squirrel Hill at Jerry’s Records. Half the records in my collection probably came from that place. It had a total 78 (RPM records) shop that was built into it, and every time I’d walk in, they’d be ready with booze. I don’t even know if it was legal what they did there. It was really fun.”

Folds also referred to former Mayor Bill Peduto as a friend after Peduto came backstage following one of Folds’ performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. During the show, Folds told the story of a Pittsburgh cab driver who was “driving me around Pittsburgh with his elbows while playing clarinet, a fantastic jazz player.”

“I told that story and Bill was like, ‘I know that (cabbie), I’ve got to come backstage and tell him about it,’ ” Folds recalled. “So we bonded through knowing this guy who played like Benny Goodman. It was notably bizarre, probably not the safest thing ever. Guy drives you around with his elbows, playing jazz on his clarinet, and then drops you off at a 78 store where they get you drunk and then back in the cab. That’s just the way you guys roll. You’re crazy.”

‘Kingstown’ premiere date

Season four of “Mayor of Kingstown,” starring Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky, will stream on Paramount+ beginning Oct. 26 as Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”) joins the cast.

Paramount’s description of the new season: “Mike’s control over Kingstown is threatened as new players compete to fill the power vacuum left in the Russians’ wake, compelling him to confront the resulting gang war and stop them from swallowing the town. Meanwhile, with those he loves in more danger than ever before, Mike must contend with a headstrong new Warden to protect his own while grappling with demons from his past.”

‘The Rainmaker’

We’re now at the point where entertainment companies’ efforts to save money are visible to viewers in laughable ways.

USA Network’s adaptation of John Grisham’s “The Rainmaker” is, of course, set in the American South. But for financial reasons the show films in Dublin.

While some exteriors appear to have been filmed in the South where the show takes place, others are clearly Dublin. A hospital exterior looks nothing like an American hospital. The police station is on street facing buildings that, again, don’t look like any American downtown I’ve ever seen.

This might all be moot if “The Rainmaker” (10 p.m. Aug. 15) was a great legal drama. But it’s depressingly pedestrian as it tells the story of recent law school grad Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) who fights for the underdog in court against jerky legal lion Leo Drummond (John Slattery, chewing scenery with wild abandon).

Channel surfing

The fifth season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” will debut Sept. 9. … VH1’s “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ’N Out” celebrates its 20th anniversary with 20 new episodes beginning at 9 p.m. Sept. 1. … Season 2 of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” premieres with two episodes at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 on Disney Channel.