When the irreverent BoJack Horseman originally graced Netflix with its presence, I don’t think anybody realized that the animal-based comedy series would end up being one of the most human and emotional shows to come out of the medium in recent years. BoJack Horseman is a lot of things. It’s a pitch perfect satire of Hollywood and the entertainment industry’s every machination. It’s a brutally honest introspective look at a man in pain who is desperate to better himself. It’s got one of the most enviable voice casts that’s been assembled, with the likes of Will Arnett, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul being only some of the talent on display. And it’s also just hooves down one of the funniest programs currently airing on television.

BoJack’s latest season sees the horseman in the middle of the Oscar race, his legacy hanging in the balance, with the series going to some of its most painful places yet. With season three premiering last weekend, we touched base with the person responsible for the Netflix series’ look, producer and production designer Lisa Hanawalt. She shared her opinions on the series’ progressive characters, the season’s stylistic departures, and if BoJack can ever truly be happy.

Den of Geek: This season digs into some especially human issues and really cuts deep. When the season was in its planning stages, what was ultimately looking to be said?

Lisa Hanawalt: Well, that’s a difficult question for me to answer because I don’t write the show, but I guess with every year I want to challenge myself because I get bored really easily. But I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen until I get the script. So every episode there are definitely surprises. You know Raphael [Bob-Waksberg], who’s the creator of the show and my friend, he’ll kind of hint at what he’s thinking about in terms of what’s happening, and I’ll be like, “Come on! Just tell me…” Of course though I don’t know what’s going on until I read the script, and even then things will change by the final draft. So I’ll kind of try and figure out who the main characters of the episode are and what the emotional core of things is and then base my designs on that.