This review contains spoilers , click expand to view . What the show does well is build strong arcs for the two titular characters, and then weave those two stories together as the show progresses. Rich backstories and evenly-paced exposition help Tuca and Bertie become deep and likable characters by the end of the season. The show is very enjoyable, especially toward the second half, and provides quality humor throughout.

However, the show is not without its flaws. Secondary characters, for the most part, are reduced to a single comedic trait. Speckle and Pastry Pete are the only non-title characters to do more than one thing (no exaggeration, you can explain every other character in five words or less). And it's not like these guys really bring much to the table either - they're just around for longer than anyone else. Pastry Pete is a sleazy man in power who spends most of the show talking about baking and getting inappropriate with his female apprentices; he's given absolutely zero backstory so we're left to feel like he's a scumbag just to drive the plot forward. Speckle (who also has no backstory) is an equally lazy character. They basically just borrowed Mr. Peanutbutter from BoJack, took away all the charisma and wackiness, and made him extremely responsible. He's a really nice guy who's always trying to help but gets frustrated by Bertie's inconsistent behavior. There's not much more to him - he's in every episode, but mostly just as a plot device in Bertie's story arc. Then he creates a big move in the final couple episodes, which finally brought some life into the character and provided a potentially interesting rise in tension to end the season and begin the next. But in the last episode they basically just erased the decision and fed a happy ending to all the BoJack fans who decided to check out the series. Maybe they're not planning on making another season, but it feels like they wanted a conclusive ending so badly that they forced one out of a story that wasn't headed in that direction. The show certainly wasn't ruined, but it was disappointing to see some story arcs quickly wrapped up, when leaving them open could have been a solid foundation to a plot we thought was expanding.

Tuca & Bertie is worth watching for any BoJack fan. It provides a familiar style of humor and a compelling central story arc driven by excellent main characters. As a stand-alone series, it shows promise that the team behind BoJack can continue to make their unique style work, this time without a voice acting super-team. But you have to look at everything in context, and Tuca & Bertie is clearly a show created patch a hole in the calendar where there's a big gap between new seasons of Netflix's marquee shows. After finishing the final episode of Tuca & Bertie, I immediately looked up release date for season 6 of BoJack. It's like watching the preseason in a sports league; it's a lot of fun after several months of nothing, but you know it's not the real deal. … Expand