With the announcement that a new season of Big City Greens was just around the corner, the poster that was released had me looking for all the references and maybe even clues as to what to expect when the hit series returns later next month to Disney Channel.
With the little iconography and taking into account what we know of the story so far, let's take a look at all the little icons through the refrigerator featured on the poster and see if they can potentially hint at what’s to come, or if they’re just fun references to fans of the show.
G + G (Gloria + Green Cafe)
At the tail end of Season Two, Gloria had attempted to show off her skills running her own cafe – albeit illegally in the former home of Big Coffee next door. While the makeshift shop was actually successful, she didn’t have the appropriate permits to run the business, and was shut down by Officer Keys, with all the money that she had made being what covered her numerous fines for the endeavor. However, all was not lost as Gramma Alice had some money put aside that she decided to invest in Gloria’s idea, now that Gramma saw the gumption and guts Gloria possessed to achieve her goals.
Under the magnet. We see Gloria in a photo in said cafe. Perhaps this means we’ll see more of her this season than we did in the latter half of Season 3, when the bulk of the Green family went back home to their farm in….
Smalton
This magnet on the fridge features the water tower of Smalton, the aptly named small town that played home to the Green Family Farm before Bill had to shut down and move back to Big City with his children and live with his mother, Alice, thus prompting the premise of the whole series. It was halfway through Season Three when Bill accidentally threw away a nostalgic jar of dirt that Cricket kept to remind him of his original home – the country. After an episode’s worth of flashbacks and finger pointing, Bill comes clean that he got rid of it by accident, and comes up with the solution of taking Cricket back to the country to make a new dirt jar – where he discovers that his old home is for sale once again, and has one crazy idea that launches the family into a new location for the second half of the third season.
Patti’s Diner
Smalton also serves as the home of Patti’s Diner, a favorite location with the Green family and the home of a life-lesson in the making about having a “usual,” because you might get stuck with a lunch platter you never wanted in the first place. It is also home to (much to Gramma’s chagrin) TIlly’s favorite pie, thus prompting a rivalry between Patti and Gramma that ends when Gramma throws in the towel after being sent to Pie Valhalla after sampling Patti’s delicious dessert.
Big-Tech/Gwendolyn Zapp
At the top of the fridge, keeping a picture of Remy and Vasquez in place, is the logo for Big Tech, run by CEO Gwendolyn Zapp. She and her company appear numerous times throughout the series, showcasing excessive technology that affects the Greens in some way or another. Personally, I remember Big Tech most from a handful of episodes, namely the Halloween episode, “Squashed!” In it, Tilly steals an alien chemical compound during a routine produce delivery that launches into the wild hijinx of the episode. Cricket also has to go up against a delivery bot that the company created in another episode as Gloria is contemplating a more efficient delivery system. Gwendolyn also has an affinity for a classic truck, The Kludge, which belongs to Bill and trades a brand new smart car for his favorite auto. The Greens have also tried their automated farming bot, F.R.A.N.K. and their farm, to mixed results. Not to be confused with….
Frank’s
Frank is Smalton's mailman, plumber, mechanic, nail technician, and election official, as we learned in the episode, “Dog Mayor.” However, this business card on the fridge also tells us he’s the town Doctor, Dentist, Lawyer, Mailman, Data Entry specialist, and so much more. Leading us to think that he’ll probably appear in one of these (or more) roles at some point this season.
Mama-Roni’s Pizza
The pizza of the pizza in Big City, Mama-Roni’s is the favorite pizza establishment of the Greens. So much so, that one Halloween night in Smalton, they actually ordered from them and a poor delivery driver had to make the trek from Big City to Smalton only to encounter a ravenous family of cannibals. Or were they just the very hangry Green family?
Wholesome Foods
Wholesome Foods, the large grocery store chain that appears throughout Big City also served as the premise for introducing the show’s main antagonist, Chip Whistler. While Chip was banned from the city in Season Two, making no appearances during Season Three, we were left with quite the cliffhanger.
At the end of Season Three, as the Green family was caught (literally) in the middle of Big City and Smalton, just off the side of the road on the outskirts of Big City, Chip Whistler was seen staring at his own grave, implying that he faked his own death and says he is out for revenge against Cricket and his family, likely a crucial part of the season and dare I say, the upcoming Big City Greens movie. But we don’t know much for sure at this point yet, aside from Chip Whistler is still out there ready to come back.
Croblins
Croblins is a major media franchise in Big City, and though we’ve never seen the first one, we know that the Greens have at least been in a theater during a presentation of Croblins 2. That said, Croblins are also seen throughout the series, even (kind of) meeting and greeting with fans in Times Circle. Needless to say, I don’t think the Croblins will be a major plot point of Season Four, but I suspect they will make an appearance at some point in the season.
Remy and Vasquez
Some will argue (myself included) that you can’t have Big City Greens without Cricket’s best friend, Remy Remington and his faithful bodyguard, Vasquez. Though their appearance in the fourth season is a given (heck, Remy even went to the country with Cricket and his family), an interview I did with the show’s creators, Chris and Shane Houghton, promised more exploration of Vasquez’s background with the order of the fang. Is now the time?!
Phoenix
Cricket and Tilly’s ever-loyal dog Phoenix is featured on the fridge. Her appearances are usually sparingly, but when she is prominently featured, she is quite literally the star of the show. Especially in her focused storylines, which actually sees her talking with the other animals, including archenemy Cogburn the Rooster. The last of these featured the dog on a mission to save Tilly’s bag-friend Saxon, to much success. Oh, did I mention she was also (briefly) the mayor of Smalton? Her presence on the fridge leads me to hope for another episode where we see her talking (voiced by Jameela Jamil) on another secret mission of some kind.
Hockey Magnet
Earlier this year, Cricket called the NHL in a Random Rings short, and that's where we saw (in terms of the story) the birth of the relationship between the Green family and the NHL. Shortly after, we were treated to the Big City Greens Classic, which in reality was a great experiment where a live NHL game was broadcast across multiple networks, but on Disney Channel and Disney XD, we saw two teams take to the ice in the middle of Times Circle in Big City, where the Greens joined the teams and the live game was broadcast in the Big City Greens style.
During that broadcast, interstitials were shown featuring the show’s cast and creators, where they promised more fun with the sport in the future. This little logo could be hinting at that very notion, but in what way? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Burger Clown
Cricket’s favorite fast-food location is represented on the Fridge, but does this mean that we’ll see another adventure with Cricket and his meat-sweats? Or perhaps the Burger Clown himself is back to tempt the kids with his tasty goodies and his free “Burgs and Fries.” Or perhaps, with the BRGR magnet on the fridge for that hipster burger place that Alice sent Bill to on a fool’s errand, maybe we’ll see some kind of turf war between the two? Or maybe they’re just different burger magnets from Big City and don’t mean anything at all.
Splish Cap
Big City’s popular soda comes in many forms – just Splish or even the Splishee (just be sure to wear shoes), but it is most commonly associated with Miss Splish and the Splish float in the big parade during Parade Day. Does this mean we will see the parade again this season? Perhaps with a new Miss Splish (Tilly took the crown previously), or is it just an icon to represent Big City itself, sort of like the…
Silverway Bridge
A Big City landmark, the Silverway Bridge was built over 30 years ago (as explained in “Greens Acres”) as Big City was starting to take shape. Today, it is known as a traffic nightmare, and is known to take a long time to cross it. In terms of this magnet on the fridge, this likely goes back to what was explained at the end of the third season, with Nancy staying in the country, and Bill and the kids heading back to Big City to stay with Gramma Alice and Gloria. Likely creating adventures between both Big City and Smalton. But with Nancy back in Smalton, she can have her own stories and adventures — which leads to…
Nancy and….somebody?
A photo of Nancy is prominently featured on the fridge, but someone else is in the photo and covered by another magnet (for the hipster burger place, BRGR). Bill and Nancy have long been separated, but could Nancy be venturing out into the dating world again? Potentially leading to a new father-figure for Cricket and Tilly?
Season 4 of Big City Greens arrives on Saturday, September 23rd. In the meantime, you can catch the series when episodes air on Disney Channel and Disney XD, or catch the entire series streaming now on Disney+.