Keegan-Michael Key and Fred Armisen debate the nature of true love in this Schmigadoon! exclusive clip

In the premiere of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio’s Schmigadoon!, Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) and Melissa (Cecily Strong) went on a couples retreat to repair their fractured relationship, only to find themselves thrust into the world of Schmigadoon, a town that’s both an homage to and a parody of musical theater. Their only way out is to find true love, which puts them in a real bind, since it suggests they’re not each other’s true love. Melissa much more readily embraced their new surroundings, because she’s a big fan of musicals. Josh was initially more skeptical, but now that the considerably younger Betsy (Dove Cameron, skewering her Disney image) wants to spend time with him, he’s not in such a rush to leave.

The second part of the premiere, “Lovers’ Spat,” ended with Betsy’s father, Farmer McDonough (Kevin McNulty), stumbling upon Josh and Betsy in a compromising position. So, this week, in “Cross That Bridge,” Josh hides out in a church, where he opens up to Reverend Howard Layton (Fred Armisen). In this exclusive clip, Josh admits he’s not sure he’s even capable of truly loving someone.

But first, Josh asks Reverend Layton what true love entails, to which the town’s preacher responds by citing 1 Corinthians 13:7, naturally. Then, in a less pat response, the reverend observes, “It’s a lot of work. So it’s probably not something you find; it’s probably something you make.” Whether or not that applies to his own marriage to the fearsome Mrs. Layton (Kristin Chenoweth) is a topic for another day. But Josh seems moved by the reverend’s words, enough to reveal his insecurity about whether he can share something so meaningful with anyone, including Melissa. The journey through Schmigadoon is as much a musical theater revue as it is a time for reflection.

“Cross That Bridge” premieres at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday, July 23 on Apple TV+.