Netflix hits another homerun with Bojack Horseman
When I turned on Netflix a week ago to watch my daily episode of Archer or Futurama, I was greeted by a banner for their new original series Bojack Horseman. Its art style and premise looked too odd to attract me at first but after a few days ignoring it, curiosity got the best of me. It took me only 3 days to go through the 12–parts season 1 and I loved every second of it.
Is this a review or not?
Not sure if you actually asked yourself this question, but the answer is no. I have nothing negative to say about the series (which was confirmed for a second season) and I do not wish to overanalyze it. I just want to share the experience and gather some more attention for the show.
The cartoon takes place in Hollywoo', the well-known city of stardom, only this time it’s populated by humans and anthropomorphic speaking animals. The show revolves around Bojack Horseman (Will Arnett), a washed up 90s family sit-com horse slash actor who’s depressed about his middle-age life as he’s pressured into writing a biography, but prefers to spend his time partying, drinking and watching his old show, Horsin’ Around. He’s accompanied in his daily life by freeloader Todd (Aaron Paul), his ex-girlfriend slash agent Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), ghostwriter Diane (Alison Brie) and many popular cameos. In true Netflix original fashion, the cast is amazing and gives life to out of this world characters.
The writing is very clever and takes advantage of its odd population to pull the occasional animal puns and situational jokes, from a Giraffe valet failing to get his head in a car on the first try to a cow waitress serving “fresh” milk. Self-references and running gags are everywhere and it’s not a good thing; it even gives the finale an extra spiciness. It’s clear they are not trying to hide the fact the show is based off real life personalities such as Bob Saget or Charlie Sheen.
What’s special about it is how fast it goes from simple joke setups to thought-provoking philosophies. I often found myself in sync with Bojack’s mind and wondering whether or not I am a good person. It does a great job at delving into the many facets of our complex modern lives, mainly the insecurity we all face on a daily basis while still making us laugh at just the right time to keep things in perspective.
I strongly suggest you give Bojack Horseman a try if you can get over its unique art style and its quirky writing – it’s all about the details with this horseshow. I dare you not to fall in love with the intro once you have a few episodes under your belt.
