Bojack Horseman is an adult cartoon Netflix original. It is my absolute favorite show on this planet (it beats out Gilmore Girls, which is saying something). Raphael Bob-Waksberg is the creator of the show, with Lisa Hanawalt as the designer (who is the creator and producer of Tuca and Bertie, which I wrote about here).
It stars Will Arnett as Bojack Horseman, a washed-up alcoholic and drug-addict celebrity. He was the star of a 90’s sitcom that references Full House, most especially seen with the double staircase in the animated version. With supporting characters Princess Carolyn, Diane Nguyen, Mr. Peanutbutter and Todd voiced by Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins and Aaron Paul, respectively, the audience gets to watch the journey that these folks take with Bojack. We see the problems that Bojack creates and runs into, Diane and Princess Carolyn putting out fires, Todd going on tomfoolery-filled adventures, and Mr. Peanutbutter popping up anywhere in that mix.
This article is going to be me trying not to gush about Bojack (I probably won’t do well). And it will also contain spoilers, but I’ll try to keep them ambiguous. So, if you don’t want spoilers, bookmark this article, go and spend the next three days binge-watching all 68 episodes, and then come back and read. If you’re okay with a few spoilers, keep reading so I can convince you to watch Bojack.
It’s important to emphasize that Bojack is filled with a lot of social commentaries. This plays itself out in two ways mostly: crude humor and ridiculousness. A great example of this is in season four, episode six, titled “Thoughts and Prayers.” In it, Princess Carolyn is trying to produce a movie that has a hefty amount of gun violence in it. While the film is in the making, she and the director of the film start to receive phone notifications of mass shootings happening in various locations in the country. The continual mantra repeated is “My thoughts and prayers are with the victims.”
In the same episode, Diane is vocal about gun control and in a twist of events, starts to own a gun. This leads the state of California to create sensible gun control laws. The second twist here is why they passed the laws: because females were beginning to own guns to feel safer. Diane delivers this line at the end of the episode, which sums up the social critique, “I can’t believe this country hates women more than it loves guns.”
Not only filled with social commentary, one of my favorite aspects of this show are the hidden (or not so hidden) jokes and easter eggs. A fun and easy example of this is when, in season six, Diane is in Chicago and goes to a restaurant named Parmadillos. Not only is it a play on the word armadillo, but it also looks to replicate the restaurant Portillos, a popular chain restaurant.
Season six is a final, two-part installment in the series. The first half of the season aired on October 25, 2019, with eight episodes. The second part will be released on January 31, 2020. It’s also my favorite, so far (we’ll see what part two brings—definitely tears). And it’s because the first five seasons were filled with ‘asshole’ Bojack and all the mistakes he’s made. We see an alcoholic, addict, and depressed Bojack. In season six, we still get a bit of ‘asshole’ Bojack, but we see him trying to heal and better himself. He checked into rehab, as in horse therapy, and so far, it seems to have stuck. But just like life, the mistakes are still coming back to bite Bojack in the butt. This is the cliff-hanger ending to the first half of season six.
Bojack isn’t the only character that starts to change. Princess Carolyn, Bojack’s agent and friend, goes through some dynamic change. In previous seasons, we see her struggle with her commitment to work and the lack of commitment to her personal life. In season six, we see a rise in commitment to her personal life, as she adopts a baby. As the season progresses, we start to see her pull back from her high commitment to her job.
Diane, the ghostwriter of Bojack’s biography, one of his closest friends, and the feminist voice of the show, gets a chance to struggle with change. In previous seasons, we see her struggle with depression alongside Bojack (but both deal with it very differently). In the new season, we see Diane choose of happiness in her life, despite still very much under the weight of her depression.
The reason I love this season so much is because of all the changes occurring with the characters (and maybe that’s happening because it’s the last season, and, you know, they’ve got to tie everything up). The show is full of dynamic, decision-making, and unique characters, but all of whom have the same goal. At the end of the day, all these characters want is to be happy. And we get to see their journey, whether or not it’s achieved.