Why BoJack Horseman is the Most Real Thing on Television Kal Follow Apr 24 · 11 min read

Five things I learnt from watching BoJack Horseman

The reason cartoons make for such great satirical comedy is that they blur the line between idealism and reality. Satirical cartoons have very few boundaries, as they stretch the limits of reality far beyond what any real-life character-based show could hope to accomplish.

Shows such as Family Guy, American Dad, The Boondocks, South Park, and Rick and Morty, are good examples of satirical comedy. Shows like these criticize social and moral issues, through wit and lighthearted humor. And if you are anything like me, you probably can’t get enough of them.

Most of these shows deconstruct everyday reality to make us laugh and temporarily alert us to our flaws. But whatever happens at the end of the episode is reset to the status quo. The personalities of the characters remain the same. And there is little or no room for growth or continuity.

Netflix animated series, BoJack Horseman is different, the show takes place in real-time. Each new episode picks up from the events of the previous episode. BoJack Horseman takes character dept and emotional heft to an unprecedented level never witnessed before on television.

Character development, growth, and continuity is the main ethos of the show. And it owes its philosophy to its creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg who, like me, doesn’t believe in happy endings.

“Well, I don’t believe in endings. I think you can fall in love and get married and you can have a wonderful wedding, but then you still have to wake up the next morning and you’re still you. Like, you can have the worst day of your life, but then the next day won’t be the worst day of your life” — Raphael Bob-Waksberg.

BoJack Horseman paints a clear picture of how reality is, using a bleak and misanthropic worldview that somehow resonates with the audience.

The show is honest and similar to real life, where characters go through a series of positive and negative moments in time, in which tension is never fully resolved, and where there is no such thing as closure.

My fascination with BoJack Horseman emanates from the fact that it is thought-provoking. It isn’t your usual dose of satirical comedy; it is a facet of knowledge, unlike any other.

Not only does the show generate sympathy towards a needy, depressive and narcissistic antihero, but it manages to teach us some of life’s most ingrained lessons. In this article I will discuss the 5 things I learned from watching BoJack Horseman.